MARGAO: Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai on Monday claimed that there is a movement of a file to allow the commercial cultivation of marijuana within the State perhaps as part of the Chief Minister’s Swayampurna Goa plan.
Sardesai questioned “If this is what the parents of Goa’s children and future generations want, and asked if the government would deny this movement?”
He highlighted the movement of the file to allow cultivation of marijuana in the name of medicinal purposes to help in the treatment of cancer.
The GFP chief also questioned what assurance would the government give that cultivation of marijuana is for medicinal purposes? Is this needed for the future of our children?
Sardesai asked “for how long should we keep a government like this in power, and at what cost? This is what I want the Goans to think about in the future”.
He said, “The BJP-ruled government has taken the recent Zilla Panchayat elections as an endorsement to implement all the anti-people policies in the State.”
He further said, “The Goa Forward Party is a party of change, progress and identity which works to protect Goa’s interests, culture and ambition of its youth.”
Speaking on the fact that Goa is entering into an election year, the GFP chief reiterated his point that “the BJP only wants power at any cost, but a united Team Goa can defeat the BJP in the effort to Save Goa Now.”
Sardesai said that he is open to talks with anyone as long as they are willing to fight to defend Goa’s unique heritage and culture, and as part of the people’s alliance he calls Team Goa.
Sardesai pointed out that “Goa has the capabilities to offer the world’s best practices to educate, train and employ Goans to cultivate good habits over vices”.
Further, Sardesai suggested that if Goa truly wants to be self-sufficient, we must look to transforming our industries such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing/assembly and logistics.
The GFP President said that Sawant never has his priorities catered to the people of Goa and stressed that Goa has world-class institutions such as the Industrial Training Institute, Goa Pharmacy College and Goa Institute of Management -– we should look to support them to make our State ‘Swayampurna’ for our future generations and not allow any Delhi intentions to make Goa a vices hub.
Sources close to the former agriculture minister said that Vijai’s vision for Goa should look to diversify its offering for self-sufficiency into productive and innovative approaches.
