January 12, 2014
Modi: I’ll be proud if I could fulfill the wishes of Goans on Special Status
Goa asks: What will you be now?
A memorandum on Special Status was submitted to me by a delegation as I landed at Goa airport. I was impressed and overwhelmed that people are demanding special status not for money but to preserve identity. I will be proud if I could fulfill the wish of these people
— Narendra Modi, then BJP PM candidate, at an election rally in Merces
September 2013
Alina Saldanha: I pledge, I will resign if the Central Govt doesn’t give us Special Status when we come to power
Goa asks: Where is your resignation?
Let me make it clear that the BJP government is very serious about granting Special Status to Goa. I pledge that I will resign if the central government does not give us Special Status, when we come to power at the Centre
— Minister for Environment and Forests, Alina Saldanha. This assurance was made after a resolution of Shantaram Naik did not get any support from the Union government in the Rajya Sabha.
April 15, 2013
Manohar Parrikar: We want Special Status to preserve land and identity, not an election gimmick
Goa asks: It’s your government. So what’s the excuse?
Goa is only demanding Special Status to preserve its land mass and cultural identity. Special Status that should be granted on the lines of Mizoram and Uttarakhand. Land sharks have created the land banks in Goa, straining the resources further. This is not a political resolution or election gimmick
— CM Manohar during a discussion on Special Status after which a resolution was passed
