Karnataka - Others   

Parrikar refutes allegation on appointments

By Our Staff Correspondent

PANAJI, APRIL 15. The Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, on Thursday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government had provided jobs to the minorities in the State while the Congress, which was in power from 1993 to 2000, had given a raw deal to them.

He was responding to allegations by the Opposition that the Parrikar Government had recruited fewer number of people belonging to the minority communities in the Police Department.

Mr. Parrikar told presspersons here that even the National Commission for Minorities had expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Government in employing persons belonging to the minority communities in the police force.

Quoting an affidavit submitted to the commission recently, the Chief Minister said the Congress had recruited 854 police constables during 1993-2000, of which 32 were Catholic Christians and 19 Muslims.

On the other hand, his Government had recruited 1,106 police constables till date.

Of them, 37 were Catholics and 22 Muslims.

He noted that only 158 Catholics and 87 Muslims had been declared eligible after the physical test.

Mr. Parrikar said the Congress had failed to protect the interests of the minorities.

"Perhaps, they (Congress) were interested in self service rather than serving the minorities," he said.

Mr. Parrikar said the State unit of the BJP would release its manifesto on April 19. Solving problems being faced by the Scheduled Tribes would be given priority, he added.

He said the Government would appoint directors to the Board of the ST Corporation soon after the elections.

IFFI

Mr. Parrikar alleged that efforts were on by some people to scuttle the Government's efforts to host the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa by citing environment issues.

Responding to the attempt made by some NGOs and two members of the Goa State Coastal Zone Management Authority to halt the desilting of the Mandovi, Mr. Parrikar said the NGOs and environmentalists had taken objection to "dredging" the river stating that it would affect the course of the Mandovi.

Mr. Parrikar said only a small portion of the riverbed near the Patto bridge had been reclaimed to construct another bridge, for which the authority's permission had been obtained.

Parrikar hailed

The Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, commended Mr. Parrikar for succeeding in "ending an era of political instability in the State."

Speaking to reporters at Margao on Wednesday, Mr. Jaitley said the State had already started benefiting from the initiatives launched by Mr. Parrikar.

On the elections, Mr. Jaitley said the NDA would return to power. "The issue dominating at the national level is that of leadership. Mr. Vajpayee has been tried and tested for good governance and competence," he remarked. He said the BJP enjoyed many advantages over that of the Congress. "Today, we have about 10 to 15 leaders who are in their early 50s and seven Chief Ministers in their 40s," he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Parrikar refutes allegation on appointments
• Triangular contest for Sirsi-Siddapur seat
• Five in fray for Sirsi-Siddapur seat
• Shivashankarappa aiming for a second win
• Around the City

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu