Team Herald
PANJIM: Taking a jibe at his political rivals, especially the leaders of national political parties visiting the State, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Sunday sarcastically said he welcomes their visit as taxi and hotel businesses, which have been affected due to COVID-19 pandemic, would get some business.
The leaders of national political parties such as Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Rahul Gandhi of Congress visited Goa. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal will be visiting Goa on Monday (today).
Speaking at a BJP Yuva Morcha event on Sunday, the Chief Minister referred to the visit of these national leaders to Goa as a form of ‘political tourism’.
“This is political tourism. During the next 4 months, the taxi and hotel businesses, which had suffered due to COVID, would get good business with this kind of tourism,” said Sawant.
The Chief Minister said he wants more leaders of the national parties to visit Goa so that there is growth in local tourism-centric businesses.
Referring to how All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi travelled to Panjim on Saturday as pillion rider with a motorcycle pilot, Sawant said using the services of motorcycle pilots and rickshaws is something he and other Goans have done for ages now. The Chief Minister said he felt good that Rahul Gandhi used the services of a motorcycle pilot.
“That must be his first time he has done it,” he said adding that that such a trip is nothing new to Goans or politicians.
On the two separate meetings of the fishermen with Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi on Friday and Saturday respectively, he said this is nothing new and that he meets fishermen every day when he visits the market.
“I have been meeting fishermen every day. When I go to the market, I get to meet them and listen to their grievances,” he said.
Taking further swipes at Congress and hitting back at comments by national leaders on former Congress MLAs joining BJP, he mocked at the present state of Congress saying, “Congress is left with just four MLAs and two of them are half in the BJP and one had almost gone but was called back. Now, Congress has just one-and-half MLAs left”.
“We did not break the Congress to bring in 10 MLAs in our fold. Those 10 (former Congress) MLAs including their former Leader of Opposition joined the BJP by seeing the good work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We only welcomed them into our party. Only BJP can do the development of Goa under the leadership of PM Modi”, he added.
