Goa CM Parsekar defends defence minister’s frequent visits to state

Mangalore Today News Network

Panaji, sep 20, 2016: Taking a jibe at the Congress for its remarks over Manohar Parrikar frequenting the state, Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Tuesday said being a defence minister does not mean he should be “standing on the border”.

“He (Manohar Parrikar) is the defence minister. But that does not mean he should be standing on the border and should not come to Goa,” Parsekar said, reacting the Congress dubbing Parrikar a “part-time defence minister”.

Parsekar said the Congress was feeling the pinch of developmental works and schemes launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government and indulging in “cheap tactics”.

“We (BJP) have launched one social welfare scheme a month during last five years of our rule in the state. Let Congress count and tell me how many such schemes they introduced during their tenure,” Parsekar said.

He said the state government has been accepted wholeheartedly by the people and it would reflect in the results of the 2017 Goa assembly elections.

Responding to a question, Parsekar said the BJP was confident that the alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) would continue in the upcoming assembly polls.

“We have been in alliance since last five years and it will continue even in the future. There is no question of discontinuing it. Both the parties are like-minded and believe in working for the people of Goa,” he said.