NT Reporter
Panaji
The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) on Friday accused the BJP-led state government of turning governance into an “event management” exercise to facilitate corruption, alleging that nearly Rs 800 crore had been siphoned off through expenditure on public events, festivals and government programmes.
The party demanded transparency in the utilisation of public funds and disclosure of expenditure incurred on major government events.
Addressing a press conference at Congress House, GPCC media and communication department chairman Amarnath Panjikar and OBC department chairman Sharad Chopdekar alleged that the government had failed to provide basic financial details despite applications filed under RTI.
Panjikar said the Congress had sought information on the International Yoga Day celebrations held on June 21, including copies of tenders, work orders and expenditure details for the 12 event centres. He said the departments concerned had responded that the “information was not available”.
“Citizens have every right to know how their tax money is being utilised,” Panjikar said.
Chopdekar questioned the government’s expenditure on Chikhal Kalo, claiming that around Rs 1.8 crore had been spent on the traditional festival, which he said had historically been organised by local communities with limited government support. “Under the guise of promoting religion and traditional festivals, the BJP is running a commission-driven administration. Public money is being misused in the name of cultural events,” he claimed.
The Congress also targeted the ‘Sarkar Tumchya Dari’ initiative, claiming that Rs 12.43 crore had
been spent on the programme but that it had delivered little tangible benefit to citizens.
The party said it would continue pursuing the matter through RTI appeals and other legal avenues and take the issue before the people, demanding greater accountability and transparency in government expenditure.
