Panaji:After Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's flip-flop over the controversial Bhumiputa Adhikarni Bill, 2021 late on Tuesday night, an upbeat opposition on Wednesday demanded the appointment of a select committee to examine the legislation which seeks to regularise illegal houses in Goa as well as bestow the status of 'bhumiputra' or sons of the soil to those with a 30 year domicile in the coastal state.
Speaking to reporters at the Dabolim international airport, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Dinesh Gundu Rao also chastised Sawant for rushing through the bill in the state assembly without discussion.
"All opposition parties have done their bit, but the CM of Goa has not run the assembly in a proper manner and no bills have been discussed properly. No time was given. It was simply passed without any discussions at the last minute. These are completely wrong actions by the CM of Goa. Important bills need to be discussed," Rao told reporters.
"What is the need to rush through with all these bills. Our demand is that the CM should either reconvene the assembly and have a proper discussion or stall these bills and appoint a select committee to discuss all the bills. That is important. Everything needs to be debated and discussed," he also said.
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The BJP-led government has been facing flak over the proposed law, from the Opposition as well as civil society and tribal groups, who have not only questioned the contents of the bill, as well as its nomenclature, which his critics allege waters down the sanctity of the phrase 'bhumiputra'.