TEAM HERALD

CANACONA: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday stated that Goa will get Rs 2800 crore as central assistance for 2015-16 and the Central government will shortly make announcement of Rs 2 lakh crore for local bodies like Zilla Panchayats, Zilla Panchayats, municipalities and panchayats.

Making his presence felt in the campaigning for ZP polls, Parrikar informed Canacona electorate that taking the excuse for campaigning he has been coming to meet the people of rural Goa who had given him mandate to govern for five years.

Speaking at a corner meeting in Khola, Parrikar regretted that even though the ZP elections are fought on party lines, only BJP is fighting the elections. “The ‘Watch’ has stopped working and what type of mud has dirtied the ‘Hand’ is not known,” stated Parrikar in virtual reference to the absence of NCP and Congress in ZP polls.

“Congress doesn’t know where their leaders have gone. I once asked a Congress MP, ‘When is the Ghar Wapsi of your leaders,” he said.

“BJP believes in ‘Cooperative Federalism’ and hence BJP decided to fight ZP elections on party lines, whereby we can hold accountability in governance. It is not possible to fix responsibility on individuals ruling Zillas.”

“During the Congress regime, Goa’s central assistance was a meagre Rs 800 crore. Believe me, for the financial year 2015-16, the Central assistance for Goa will be Rs 2800 crore. If you don’t believe me, wait for Budget presentation. Only the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is capable of doing this,” he stated.

Stating that the local bodies including Zilla Panchayats will be flooded with funds, Parrikar said the Central government has already planned to allot Rs 2 lakh crore for Zilla Parishads, Zilla Panchayats, municipalities and panchayats, without stating whether Goa state alone will get this much fund or whether it will be distributed among all the states in the country.

Sports Minister Ramesh Tawakdar also spoke at the meeting.