Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday appealed to the people “not to fall prey to the misleading propaganda against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)”.
The Chief Minister’s appeal comes a day after several groups in the State staged a peaceful protest at the Azad Maidan demanding the withdrawal of Centre’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Addressing the state level function on the occasion of Goa Liberation Day, Sawant said, “Whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian…there is no need to worry about CAA as it is not going to have any impact”.
“Central government has passed Citizenship Amendment Act. I would like to assure you all that no Hindu, Muslim or Christian in Goa should be worried about it. As the Chief Minister of the State, I would like to assure you that the Act is not going to affect anyone in the State. It is my responsibility to protect interest of each citizen of the State,” Sawant said.
“I would like to request the people, not to fall prey to those who are trying to mislead or spread false propaganda against the Act,” he added.
The Chief Minister assured that the State government will take all the required precautions to protect the interest of its people.
On Wednesday, hundreds of like-minded people, including political parties, protested at Azad Maidan against CAA.
Meanwhile, reiterating that the State government will not compromise on Mhadei issue, Sawant said the MoEF&CC decision to keep the consent letter granted to Karnataka’s Kalasa-Bhandura project in abeyance is a “victory of the people of Goa”.
The Chief Minister said for the last one month, the opposition parties were busy levelling various allegations against him.
“But we have proved that we will not allow any kind of compromise on Mhadei issue. I consider River Mhadei as my mother and once again I would like to reiterate that our stand will not change,” he said.
“After the letter by MoEF&CC keeping its earlier communication in abeyance, it is clear that we will not allow any compromise on Mhadei. Mhadei is of Goa and it will continue to be so,” he added.
Further, the Chief Minister informed that the government plans to seek financial support from Centre to promote Medical and Hinterland tourism in the State, which will be a reality in next two years.
Also, he said efforts are on to promote Goa as educational hub, for which, State intends to have institutions like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
He also declared that the efforts are on to ensure that the first phase of Greenfield Airport at Mopa is commissioned by the year 2022.
Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar, Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate and Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat were also present.
