Goa Pradesh Con gress Committee (GPCC) president on Sunday accused the State government and the BJP of prioritising political publicity over Goa’s interests and human concerns, while raising questions over Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s handling of the Western Zonal Council meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Goa visit and the alleged misuse of the State Emblem by BJP Goa. On the Western Zonal Coun cil meeting, Girish Chodankar accused Chief Minister Pra mod Sawant of prioritising BJP publicity over Goa’s inter ests by linking the inaugura tion of the party’s new state headquarters with the Council meeting in Goa. He said the Zonal Council should be used to secure con crete commitments on issues affecting Goa rather than be coming a platform for political publicity. “The Western Zonal Council is not a BJP stage. Goa needs results, not photographs. Sawant must fight for Goa’s in terests, not use the Council for political optics,” he said. The Congress Chief de manded that the Chief Min ister clarify Goa’s position on Maharashtra’s revised DPR for the Virdi Dam/Tillari project and whether the State had for mally opposed the proposed diversion of Tillari water to wards the Markandeya river. He also questioned the government over the delay in enacting comprehensive leg islation for the Goa Maritime Board and asked why Goa had not sought joint coastal patrols with Maharashtra to check alleged encroachment by mechanised trawlers into traditional fishing areas. On border-related issues, he questioned why mineral-lad en heavy vehicles and alleged liquor smuggling continued despite restrictions, while or dinary Goans were subjected to harassment at check-posts. He also raised the issue of narcotics trafficking, alleg ing that the government had failed to seek coordinated in ter-state action with Mahar ashtra and Gujarat. The GPCC president urged the State government to pro pose a Maharashtra-Goa-Gu jarat coastal tourism circuit at the Zonal Council meeting, arguing that greater regional cooperation could strength en tourism and connectivity along the western coast. The GPCC demanded that the government make public the issues raised by Goa at the meeting, the commitments secured from participat ing States and the timelines agreed upon for their imple mentation. Meanwhile, he questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s decision to proceed with the inauguration of the BJP’s new state headquarters in Goa several hours after a building collapse was report ed in Delhi, alleging that the timing raised questions about the government’s sensitivity and priorities. Shah inaugurated the BJP Bhavan in Goa between 5.30 pm and 5.45 pm, while the building collapse in Delhi had occurred at around 1.30 pm, he said. He said nearly four hours should have been sufficient for the Union Home Minister to be informed about a major incident in the national capital. The GPCC Chief argued that if Shah was aware of the tragedy and still proceeded with the political event, it reflected in sensitivity towards human suf fering.
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If he was unaware, he said, it raised questions about the efficiency of the Union Home Ministry’s intelligence and communication systems. “If Amit Shah knew about the Delhi tragedy and still chose to proceed with a grand political inauguration, it ex poses his complete insensitiv ity towards human suffering. But if he did not know about such a serious incident even after nearly four hours, then it exposes the inefficiency of the Union Home Ministry,” the GPCC Chief said. He demanded an explana tion from Shah, saying the ep isode was not merely a matter of protocol but raised ques tions about the government’s priorities. Taking a swipe at the BJP’s new office, he alleged that the party had prioritised its headquarters inauguration over concern for human lives. He referred to the building as “Chanda Chori Bhavan”, a jibe aimed at the BJP’s political funding. “The BJP may call it a Bha van, but Goans have already started calling it ‘Chanda Chori Bhavan’. Today, this Chanda Chori Bhavan could have waited. Human lives can not,” he said. He also questioned the BJP’s claims of strong governance and efficient administration, saying that either the Home Minister had ignored a major tragedy or information about it had failed to reach him in time. “No BJP office is more im portant than a human life. No inauguration is more impor tant than human suffering.
BJP Bhavan can wait — hu manity cannot,” he added. In another complaint, the Congress has approached the Panjim Police alleging that the BJP Goa’s official social-me dia account misused the State Emblem of India in a political graphic. According to the GPCC Chief, a BJP Goa post celebrating the launch of the ISRO EOS-05 satellite prominently featured the State Emblem alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He alleged that the use of the national emblem in the political communication amounted to an unauthorised attempt to associate an official national symbol with the BJP.
