Goa Congress slams Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for Amethi visit

The Congress in Goa on Saturday criticised Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for visiting Amethi and accused him of running away from pressing issues in the State and instead promising to undertake developmental works in Amethi constituency.

Mr. Sawant on Saturday visited Baraulia village in Amethi constituency, which was formerly represented by Congress national president Rahul Gandhi, in Uttar Pradesh to pay condolences to the family of a BJP party worker who was shot dead in May.

Mr. Sawant went to the village adopted by the former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, as part of a Parliamentary scheme on Saturday, along with Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Amethi.

“We definitely feel like contributing something in the areas of education or development sector, especially to do with youth... The local authorities should decide. If they allow us, we will do something in memory of the late Manohar Parrikar,” Mr. Sawant told reporters in



Baraulia.

Mr. Sawant also said that he had worked as a party worker in Amethi in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and had come in contact with BJP worker Surendra Singh, who was shot dead soon after the 2019 general elections.

“I am glad that I could meet Surendra Singh’s family. The party lost a good worker. This loss cannot be made good. But, at least, we can condole his death. The party organisation is with its workers and their families,” Mr. Sawant said, after paying condolences to members of the late Singh’s family.

The Congress, however, criticised Mr. Sawant, saying he was running away from pressing local issues, such as unemployment, contamination of fish with formalin and the mining ban.

“There is unrest everywhere in Goa. The CM cannot find time for Goa and he has the time to go to Amethi to solve their problems. We want him to first focus on solving issues that are before Goa,” State Congress president Girish Chodankar said.