Food safety took centre-stage in the Assembly, with Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco raising concerns about adulteration and its link to rising cancer cases. In response, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane assured the House that the department was doing a commendable job, but cautioned Lourenco with a wry smile: “Be careful, you’ve got a big social media following... I’m not joking.”
Things got spicier when Reginaldo pressed for specifics— like what is the state of chicken in a chicken nugget. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant got into the act, reminding the House that it's Shravan—a sacred, strictly vegetarian month. Reginaldo, unfazed, insisted, “I was not joking.”Let’s just hope the food safety authorities aren’t either.
Birthday wishes and health centrevisits
Birthdays are usually a time for cake and candles, but in the Goa Assembly, they come with a to-do list. When Benaulim MLA VenzyViegas raised the issue of staff shortages at the Cansaulim Health Centre, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane had an unusual proposal:“Venzy’s birthday is coming up. I will pay a visit and you take out 15 minutes—we’ll go visit the health centre together.”
He added, “In the name of your birthday, let’s do some social work. I’ll even come wish you personally.”
Bull fights and pedicures: A different kind of love story
Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar made a passionate case in the Assembly to legalise traditional bullfights, claiming that bull owners treat their animals with immense love—so much love, in fact, that they give them pedicures.
Arolkar shared a phone call with an elderly lady who pleaded, “My Babu has been at home for two years, please do something for him.” Thinking she meant her son, Jit offered to help find him a job.
“Forget my son,” she corrected. “I’m talking about my fighter bull—he hasn’t had a fight in two years!”
Clearly, in Goa, even bulls have the luxury of the occasional spa day.