Earlier, PM Modi offered prayers at Dev Bodgeshwar Temple in Mapusa. (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday adressing a public meeting in poll-bound Goa said that the BJP government had given the mantra of a 'Swayampurna' or a 'self-sufficient' Goa.
Addressing the gathering in Goa's Mapusa, he said that Goa, for the BJP stood for 'Governance, Opportunities, Aspirations' and hoped that people of the state would vote the party to power for the next five years.
"From this land of Goa, phrases like 'Congress-Mukt Bharat' unexpectedly came out of my mouth. Today these phrases have become the resolution of many citizens of the country. For us, GOA mean Governance, Opportunities and Aspirations," the prime minister said.
PM Modi also took a veiled dig at the Congress and said that the opposition party remembered Goa only when its leaders wanted to come to the state for tourism and not for development purposes.
"Goa is useful for India and can come in handy in the progress of the country. If we have to increase tourism in India, then it can be done from Goa. But such things did not cross the minds of the earlier governments. They ruled for five decades in Delhi. They remembered Goa only when they wanted to pay a visit here for tourism purposes. But our government has introduced projects like Sagar Mala, under which the investment of nearly Rs 5,000 crore is being done," the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi further said that under the Congress rule in the state in 2011, nearly 25 lakh tourists visited Goa yearly, but by 2019 the number of tourists increased to more than 80 lakh because of the promotion of tourism by the BJP government in the state.
"The number of tourists visiting here is a perfect example of what the BJP has done for the development of Goa. Earlier, only seasonal tourism was more in Goa, but the BJP government promoted tourism here, increased the facilities and now tourists come here throughout the year. In 2011, when the Congress government was in Goa, there were about 25 lakh tourists a year. But by the time of 2019, this number has reached more than 80 lakhs," he said.
"If good roads were not constricted here, new facilities were not provided here, the tourists would not have liked to come here. That is why the BJP government has launched an infrastructure development Abhiyan here," the Prime Minister added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at Dev Bodgeshwar Temple in Mapusa.