Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Amid the concern raised by the cabinet ministers over use of toolkit to defame Goa, the Bharatiya Janata Party has downplayed the same calling it just a “media hype”.
BJP State President and RS MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade said he has discussed the issue with the Chief minister and the ministers on the same and they have confirmed that there is nothing as such.
On social media, the phrase “toolkit” is frequently used to aggressively promote or disparage material. His colleagues begged Khaunte to disclose the identity of the minister in charge of overseeing the toolkit throughout the negotiations, but he adamantly refused.
Khaunte went to power minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar and remarked, “He knows about it,” in response to an upset revenue minister named Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate who demanded that Khaunte name the minister.
Chief Minister Sawant recently said that his opponents were using a variety of tactics to attack him with unfounded accusations, and his wife Sulakshana even brought a defamation lawsuit against AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh for Rs 100 crore.
Sawant had asked why the chief minister was the only target, and the response, which did not include a name, was that there was only one culprit.
“A plan outlining how to target the chief minister was made public. Who gives that individual the feed in opposition to me? That individual discusses topics that were never given much attention by the local media. Who gives him anything else but the feed?
Khaunte denounced social media influencers who disseminated false information indicating a drop in Goan tourism. “I’m making a direct accusation. These influencers are compensated individuals who have been brought on board to disparage Goa. In terms of statistics, we have exceeded the domestic tourist numbers (arrivals compared to last year).
“The season has been great, outstanding… and we anticipate that 2025 will be a good year for tourism as well,” he said. “The hotel occupancy rate has been about 100% for five- and four-star establishments, and 60–65% for hotels in the lower category.
He said that this illustrates how many tourists visited Goa. Goa attracts visitors for its own sake.
