Statehood in haste, Goa should be UT like J&K: ex-CM

Former Goa Chief Minister and Congress MLA Ravi Naik on Wednesday said that Goa got its statehood in haste, and that it should be made a Union Territory — like Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that Goa should get grant from the Centre to enhance its revenue and become a self-reliant state.

Leader of Opposition in Assembly and senior Congress leader Digambar Kamat, however, said Naik’s statement was his own and not that of the party.

“The Chief Minister must make efforts to obtain a grant for the state to be self-sufficient. We got statehood in a haste…. When we were a UT, we were getting all grants and there was development. People should think about this…how it was done in Kashmir. The state government and the Central government should think about it,” Naik told the media.

Goa, part of the former Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, got statehood on May 30, 1987.

With Assembly elections only months away, Naik said he is prepared to contest from one of any three Assembly constituencies — Shiroda, Marcaim and Ponda. Without specifying whether he would contest the elections on a Congress ticket, Naik said, “A person does the work, not a party symbol. People know me as Ravi Naik, and that is what I will contest election as.”

Naik’s sons Roy and Ritesh had joined the BJP in August last year.