PARRIKAR FELT SLEEPY DURING GOVERNOR’S SPEECH IN THE ASSEMBLY

PANJIM: Governor S S Sidhu's address to the Goa legislative assembly was "completely lacking in direction, sense of purpose", was "full of errors and false statements" and was so boring, that "I had to keep myself from falling asleep", opposition leader Manohar Parrikar told the media.

Addressing a press conference after the governor's address, Parrikar however clarified that his reaction was not personally against the governor, who was "obliged to read what the government had writtenfor him."

Parrikar said that the governor's speech usually gives an indication of the direction the government wants to take in the year ahead. "But this was just a collection of statistics from various departments. Statistics are definitely a part of the speech but it should also show how the government wants to proceed in the development of the state," Parrikar said.

Referring to the speech "errors" regarding the law and order in Goa, Parrikar said the government has attempted to give "selective figures in selective ways by clubbing only certain kinds of crime" to falsely show that crime had reduced in Goa. He also said the figures cited for narcotics are laughable especially in view of the fact that the national media has shown that drugs proliferate in Goa.

He also refuted claims in the governor's address that Goa was one of the top tourist destinations in India saying Goa has lost a share of the foreign tourists which was 3.7% in 2005 and has reduced to 2.6% as of now. Even states like Bihar have increased their tourist inflow but Goa, despite having internationally renowned sites like Old Goa, had lost out on tourism, he said.

Parrikar contradicted more claims in the governor's address. Referring to the claim that Goa's GSDP had increased from last year's 9.46% to the present 13.03%, Parrikar said that in his budget speech, the chief minister had said Goa's GSDP was 14%. "Where did the 9.46% come from?" Parrikar asked.(TNN)