Failure to take timely decisions led to COVID spread: Cong

Panaji: The Congress party on Thursday lashed out at the government for having ‘failed’ to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar said that had the government imposed lockdown when Mangor Hill in Vasco saw first few cases, the virus would have not spread across the state.  

“Government cannot control the spread of the virus as they failed to take timely decisions and everyone is living in fear today.  Sawant government has surrendered to COVID and left it to the people. And if that is the case, then I feel Sawant sarkar should surrender to the people of Goa and leave,” Chodankar stated.

Further Chodankar said that earlier Sawant used to say ‘do not panic’ and now after having ‘failed’ to control the spread of the virus he says ‘learn to live with COVID’.

“If Sawant had attained political maturity then he would have not declared Goa as a green zone in a haste,” he said.

He said that the government has completely mismanaged the COVID-19 situation and Sawant failed to take wise and timely decisions as a result of which Goa has over 900 confirmed cases of the virus.

The state Congress president also alleged that the residents of Guleli, who are opposing the proposed IIT Goa project in their village, were being harassed.

He alleged that residents of Guleli, who are working in different government departments, are being transferred to remote places.  

Chodankar said that the Congress party will pay homage to the martyrs of Ladakh at Azad Maidan in Panaji by observing June 26 as ‘Shaheedon Ko Salaam Divas’. He informed that his party will also hold protest over the ‘unprecedented’ rise in petrol and diesel prices, in Mapusa and Margao on June 29.