“Some people want me not to come, because they fear their chances might diminish. I understand that. But any politician, will keep regular contact with his key voters,” Parrikar said. “I am from Goa. Definitely I have to be in Goa for the election campaign. Do you feel that I should disconnect from Goa?” Parrikar asked.
“Secondly, when a politician, is from a particular place and he is at the Centre or even in Goa, if he is a minister, shouldn’t he attend to his own people and constituency,” Parrikar added.
Questioned about his frequent visits to Goa, Parrikar said he gets a telephonic briefing from the Defence Ministry thrice a day.
He also said that he feels pained at the death of Indian security personnel. “For any jawan who has lost his life, I always feel the pain, so I salute them for their courage,” Parrikar said.
Parrikar added that it is the NDA government which implemented the OROP scheme, while past governments only talked about it. “20.69 lakh ex-servicemen are benefitting from the pension scheme,” said Parrikar adding that the scheme has been hanging fire since the 1970s.
“We have already disbursed more than Rs 5,500 crore. Annual cost of OROP is around Rs 7,500 crore,” he added.
