No need to cancel Goa Carnival due to Indo-Pak tension: BJP

The ruling BJP Friday rejected the Congress's demand to cancel carnival festivities in Goa in the wake of the prevailing tension between India and Pakistan, saying the country is not in a state of war.

Goa Carnival is one of the most popular and much- awaited annual cultural festivals in the coastal state.

This year, the four-day festival, a huge tourist attraction marked by song, dance and display of colourful floats, will begin Saturday.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar had demanded that carnival festivities be cancelled due to the ongoing tension on the Indo-Pak border.

Addressing a press conference here, Power Minister and Goa BJPspokesman Nilesh Cabral said the country is not in a state of war to cancel an event like carnival.

The carnival, organised by the state tourism department, is a cultural festival held every year, he said.

"We are not in a state of war. If we were in a state of war then it (the demand to cancel the event) could have been considered," Cabral said.

"But now we(India) are in a commanding position. The armed forces are properly looking after us," he said, adding festivities like the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj are still on and they should not be stopped.

"Sentiments of some opposition party should not be considered as sentiments of Goa," he said.

Tensions have escalated between the two neighbours in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama suicide attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed and subsequent aerial strike by the India Air Force on a sprawling training facility of the terror outfit inside Pakistan.