GSM takes a dig at Parrikar over his push for 'cashless' Goa

Taking a dig at Manohar Parrikar, the Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), mentored by rebel RSS leader Subhash Velingkar, today said local BJP leaders seem to be not taking the Defence Minister "seriously" over his push for making the state a "cashless" society.
"Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had made a statement that he will make Goa a cashless society by December 31. Immediately after his statement, BJP leaders in Goa have made exactly opposite statement, saying it's not possible to have cashless transactions by December 31," GSM president Anand Shirodkar told reporters here.
He said the "contradiction" in their statements indicates that the BJP leaders in Goa are not taking Parrikar seriously. "They don't trust Parrikar," he said.

Shirodkar alleged Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar is only a "puppet" who is not executing his powers. "Entire Goa administration is run by the Defence Minister," he added.
He said though cashless transactions do not fall under the Defence Ministry, Parrikar still made the statement on it when he is not the chief minister of state.
"Goa is not England or New York. The people here are from rural background. For them, cashless is unacceptable concept. Even for educated people, the training of 2-3 months is required on this concept," he said, adding though his supports the concept of cashless mode, "but it should be implemented by giving sufficient time to the stakeholders".

Parsekar, who had earlier placed the December 30 deadline for achieving cashless target, yesterday made a climbdown after growing criticism of his move, saying no timeframe could be imposed in this regard.
Parrikar and Parsekar had chaired a meeting last week asking bankers to educate vendors, hawkers and other business community on how to execute cashless transactions.