NCP - National Congress Party

Addressing assembled party workers and MLAs at a widely attended NCP convention at Betalbatim, which was also attended by former Lok Sabha speaker Mr P A Sangma, Member of Parliament, Ms Surpiya Sule, Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel and other state NCP leaders, he also pointed out that certain issues had plagued the state that had tarred its image and made an appeal that they should not be blown out of proportion. He also expressed confidence that the government would get to the bottom of those particular issues.

Arguing that the secular fabric of the country must be protected, Mr Pawar said that there is "no room for communal politics in the state" and urged Goans to maintain this secular face. "Goa is a unique state and the only state in the country with total unity of all sections of the society," Mr Pawar said adding that NCP is a secular party which is why the party is doing well in the country. He pointed out that this was the reason why the NCP has representation in the government in the states of Goa, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Nagaland. He added that this party, which is hardly ten years old, will do better still in the years to come and have a bigger representation in many states of the country as well as in the central government.

On the sugarcane issue, Mr Pawar said that sugar situation in the country was still a matter of concern as "sugarcane was a 16-month crop. So we are making efforts to import sugar in a big way. Concessions are being given to state governments and we are trying to improve public distribution system (PDS) in a big way." Mr Pawar further said that in order to ensure that such a situation does not repeat, complacency had to be avoided and "we need to pay enough attention to the farmer community." Mr Pawar also touched on women's issues stating that only when women become a part of the decision making process can the nation progress.