Goa 'strange' place, becoming famous for protests: Parrikar

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday referred to Goa as a "strange place" which is becoming "famous" for people protesting for just about anything.

"I think Goa is becoming famous for protesting against anything. You get a factory, they protest. You don't get a factory, they protest, because there is no job. You start tourism, they protest, saying with with tourism comes lot of unnecessary vices," he said at a function organised to inaugurate a new chapter of the Indian Institute of Technology in the state.

Parrikar, a former Goa Chief Minister, also questioned the merit of civil society protests against setting up of premier educational institutions like the IIT.

"You start a factory, there is a protest I can understand because of pollution, but then you start an educational institute also there is a protest. It's a very strange place," Parrikar said.

He hinted that the protests in Goa could be fomented for political end.

"We do have some streaks which are recognised by some people in Delhi and they think that because of that, Goa can be won in the next elections. But I can assure you that, that percentage is very small and most of the Goans will love to have IIT start in its own campus as early as possible," Parrikar said in a dig at Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party which is trying to gain a foothold in the state.

--IANS

maya/vd