Jobs Denied to Locals in Key Projects Under BJP Government, Alleges Congress

Congress leader Alka Lamba on Wednesday alleged the BJP-led government in Goa has failed to keep its promise of employing local people in key projects like Manohar International Airport and AYUSH Hospital. The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP rejected Lambas allegations, saying she had an erratic political background and flips her stance depending on which side of the aisle she finds herself.

Congress leader Alka Lamba on Wednesday alleged the BJP-led government in Goa has failed to keep its promise of employing local people in key projects like Manohar International Airport and AYUSH Hospital. She also alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Panaji Smart City project in the coastal state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected Lamba's allegations, saying she had an ''erratic political background and flips her stance depending on which side of the aisle she finds herself''. Lamba is campaigning for INDIA bloc candidates from North Goa and South Goa constituencies, which will vote on May 7. ''Local people living near MIA (Mopa Airport) were promised jobs but preferential treatment was given to the people of Sanquelim constituency, which is represented by CM Pramod Sawant,'' Lamba claimed while addressing Congress workers in Panaji. The Congress leader accused the Sawant-led government of being involved in the ''cash for jobs scam'', which she said would be investigated at the highest level by Congress after coming to power. Lamba further alleged that the Mopa Airport Development Authority had permitted high-rise buildings without making the draft Mopa Outline Development Plan public. BJP Goa spokesman Giriraj Pai Vernekar rejected Lamba's charges. ''To your specific query about responding to Alka Lamba, I would like to draw your attention to her erratic political background. She flips her stance depending on which side of the aisle she finds herself. She is yet to address the accusations she made against Congress when she joined AAP, and upon her return to Congress, she viciously criticised AAP,'' he said.