from deccan herald Parrikar uses Goa funds to boost RSS image in Gujarat >From Devika Sequeira
DH News Service PANAJI, June 20 Most people in Goa would have trouble finding Devgad village on the map of Gujarat. But the fact is that their contributions, after the Gujarat earthquake, helped rebuild the dusty township 90 kms away from Rajkot. Which is why many donors are now upset to discover that the Goa Chief Minister's Relief Fund-Gujarat was entrusted entirely to the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) by Mr Manohar Parrikar, and the that the rebuilt township has been dedicated to RSS 'pracharak' Laxmanrao Inamdar. "These funds were collected from the public, but are being treated like the personal funds of the BJP. We would like an account of how they have been utilised," Congress spokesman Jitendra Deshprabhu told Deccan Herald. Earlier this week, Mr Parrikar, accompanied by a handful of journalists close to him and a group of RSS and BJP members, flew in to a red carpet welcome from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a personal friend, to inaugurate the Goa-sponsored 'Laxmanrao Inamdar' township at Devgad. Goa has pitched in Rs 2.2 crore of the Rs 4.2 crore rehab project. Public donations to the chief minister's fund accounted for Rs 1.40 crore of the total fund, Rs 26 lakh came from a local newspaper collection and the rest came from the Goa government. The rebuilt town has 204 houses, besides a school, a panchayat ghar, a dispensary, a temple and a crematorium. The work was routed through the RSS affiliate Seva Bharati. In his speech that day Mr Parrikar said he was glad that Goan contribution had gone into "safe hands". Mr Modi, on the other hand, is reported to have used the occasion to lash out at the Congress for using the Gujarat violence in its election campaign in Goa. "The BJP victory in Goa is a victory for Gujarat," he is quoted as having said, promising to use this as his election slogan in the impending poll in his state./ends =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
