Preetu Venugopalan Nair

Panaji, Dec 12 (TOI): Goan politicians have distanced themselves from PWD minister Churchill Alemao's statement at a public function in Karwar that the Konkani-speaking areas of Karwar, Karnataka, be acceded to Goa.

While some felt that this is a politically-motivated statement by the minister, others said that the Goa government has not demanded the merger of Karwar with Goa.

"There is no move either by the Goa or Karnataka governments to merge Konkani-speaking areas of Karwar with Goa. I doubt if the majority of people in Karwar will favour this (move). Also in the interest of Goa and Goans, such a merger should never happen as it would disturb Goa's balance. Already, there is conflict between Goans and non-Goans in the state. By bringing in a 'new entrant' there will be more chaos and problems for the state in the long run," said Goa's Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha Shantaram Naik.

When contacted, chief minister Digambar Kamat refused to be drawn into the controversy stating that he wouldn't like to comment on Churchill's statement. But when asked if the government had sent any proposal demanding the merger of Karwar with Goa, the CM said, "No such proposal has been made."

Incidentally, BJP MLA Damu Naik, who is in favour of the merger, has also criticized Churchill. "He (Churchill) is misguiding and fooling people by making such statements. Though we would like to have Karwar merged with Goa, it can't be done until the people of Karwar demand it and both the states agree," said Damu Naik.

He added, "Also, Churchill, instead of being concerned about development in other states, should concentrate on Goa's development and fulfill the requirements for this purpose. Rather than sympathize with the people in Karwar, he needs to clean up his own department (PWD) of allegations of illegalities and irregularities."

Even Churchill's brother, Joaquim Alemao, refused to come out in support of his brother's statement. "I don't want to comment on this," said the younger brother.

However, Churchill found support in a group of people from Karwar called the United Goans Forum, whose member Ulhas Rao Naik Dessai said, "Historically, Karwar taluka was a part of Goa and we demand that Karwar taluka once again be a part of Goa as a majority of the people have their family deities and blood relations there. More than one lakh people from Karwar taluka are settled in Goa, because the Karnataka government is denying us jobs and is treating us like outsiders.