Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has made budgetary provisions for saffronisation of Goa by allowing Yoga guru Ramdev and the RSS to set up bases in the state, the Congress Thursday said.Addressing a press conference in Panaji, state Congress president John Fernandes Thursday said that the BJP government has laid the red carpet for Ramdev and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Indresh Kumar, and questioned how announcements made in the budget have already been made in the public domain months earlier."NGOs owing affiliation to the Sangh Parivar are being indirectly promoted by the chief minister in Goa. He should not vitiate the communal harmony which Goa is famous for," Fernandes said.In his budget presented in the state legislative assembly Thursday, Parrikar announced that yoga would be introduced in schools and that his government intends to tie up with qualified yoga institutions to implement the scheme.Two months before the budget announcement, Ramdev after a meeting with Parrikar in February had announced that teachers from the Haridwar-based Patanjali Yogpeeth would be teaching yoga in Goa's schools soon.
Parrikar also told the house that Ramdev's Bharat Swabhiman Kisan Sanstha among other organisations would be allowed to tackle the issue of stray cows loitering along Goa's roads."It is highly objectionable that organisations linked to the RSS will be funded and budgeted by the Goa government to set up their questionable organisations," Fernandes said, taking a dig at Parrikar's announcement to fund the Indresh Kumar-run think tank Forum for Integrated National Security's (FINS) academy in Goa."National security has become a matter of great concern. In order to keep Goa free from terrorism, we need to take immediate steps. The disciplined forces as well as policymakers need to be sensitized and trained," Parrikar said."I, therefore, intend to set up an academy for study in national security and strategic planning, in collaboration with the Forum for Integrated National Security," he said, adding that an initial budgetary provision of Rs.50 lakh has already been made for the purpose.