Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday interacted with fisherfolk in Velso during his first visit to the poll-bound state.
Speaking at the gathering, the Congress leader said that he would not allow the coastal state to turn into a “coal hub”. "We are very clear that we do not want Goa to be a coal hub, when it does not benefit Goa to be a coal hub. That goes for a lot of the environmental destruction that is taking place here," Gandhi said.
"The most important thing Goa has is the environment. And that has to be protected at all costs. We are pretty clear that we are not going to allow Goa to become a polluted place, we are not going to allow this idea that Goa, which is a pristine place should become a coal hub," he said, when a fisherman raised the issue of three linear road, rail and power projects along the Goa-Karnataka border, which the opposition has claimed are being developed to develop a coal corridor through the state.
"We are not just protecting the environment for the people of Goa. We are protecting the environment for all of us and the people of India," he added.
His visit to the coastal state comes ahead of hectic political activity ahead of legislative assembly polls expected in February 2022.
“We fought elections in Chhattisgarh and promised to waive the loan of farmers and we did it. You can go and confirm it in Punjab, Karnataka also. Whatever goes in our manifesto is a guarantee, not only a promise,” Gandhi said on Saturday.