Team Herald
MARGAO: South Goa Member of Parliament Narendra Sawaikar has expressed confidence that the mining imbroglio in Goa would be resolved before the Lok Sabha elections and while reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to bringing back the black money taken away from India and giving Goa special status, said people will definitely give the prime minister another term only for the work he has done.
Briefing media persons, he said the mining ban that has come to haunt Goans was a result of the wrong policies of the previous Congress government that renewed the leases that had expired following which people went to the court and the Supreme Court directed the mining operations to be stopped.
“It is because of the wrong decisions taken earlier that people had to go to the court,” he said while admitting that the ban on mining has adversely affected the State. However, he said the State and Central government are seized of the matter and committed to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“I met the party president Amit Shah along with mining dependants and he has assured that the problem will be resolved shortly,” he said adding that he was confident that the problem would be solved before the Lok Sabha polls are held.
Replying to a question he said the Prime Minister is committed to getting back the black money that has been stashed away from India and said the government has taken various steps towards this. “Agreements have been signed with various countries on this matter and the extradition process has been streamline which is why today we can see the possibility of Vijaya Mallya returning to India,” he said.
Replying to a question he said Narendra Modi is committed to his promise of granting special status to Goa and disclosed that this matter has been discussed frequently. “There are some constitutional issues that need to be resolved and once that is done, Goa will get a special status,” he said refusing to elaborate on the “constitutional issues”.
Narendra said with the good governance provided by Narendra Modi that could be seen in the smooth and productive parliament sessions except when Congress disrupted them for their personal reasons.
He said the ease of doing business in India has improved tremendously under Modi where it is now ranked 100 from the earlier ranking of 192 when they took over the reins of the country. “The law on triple talak and 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections shows that the prime minister is concerned about the social issues plaguing India,” he said.
He said Narendra Modi has given nearly Rs. 15 thousand crore for infrastructure development in Goa. “The Zuari, Mandovi, Galgibaga, Talpona and Usgao Khandepar bridges are fast nearing completion though the Zuari bridge is a little delayed,” he said and added that Goans will also back the BJP at the Lok Sabha elections.
