PANAJI: Goa called off a planned junket for six legislators to Brazil’s football World Cup yesterday, caving in to political pressure over the “waste” of taxpayers’ money.
The proposed trip, costing the coastal state about nine million rupees ($150,000), had come under sharp criticism as Goa reels under financial stress, especially after a ban on mining two years ago that significantly dented its revenues.
Goa’s sports minister Ramesh Tawadkar said next month’s trip was intended as a research mission as Goa is set to host National Games in 2016 and bidding to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament the following year.
“We wanted to study the conduct of the game,” said Tawadkar, who was due to lead the delegation, three of whom were state ministers. “But considering the public sentiments, the government has decided to drop the proposal and not to go ahead with the visit,” he told reporters.
Earlier yesterday one of the state ministers had told local media they would pay for their own trip to Brazil, without burdening the taxpayer.
The state government, run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that swept to power nationally under Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, had faced scrutiny over the trip from the opposition Congress party.
“When the state has been resorting to increasing borrowings, we don’t understand the reason behind sponsoring this fun trip,” Durgadas Kamat, a local Congress leader, had told reporters in Goa on Thursday.AFP
