Goa CM must apologise for hurting sentiments: Congress

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) on Sunday demanded an apology from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for his alleged statement that the number of COVID-19 cases had increased after Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.

"It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister has blamed devotees for spreading coronavirus in Goa by participating in annual Chaturthi celebrations, and he must apologise for hurting their sentiments," Amarnath Panjikar, the general secretary of GPCC said in a statement.

He added that the Chief Minister has no right to blame anyone for the increase in COVID-19 cases in the state except for themselves.

As per media reports, Goa Chief Minister on Saturday said that the state government has noticed that the number of COVID-19 cases has increased after Ganesh Chaturthi celebration.

A total of 451 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Goa on Saturday taking the total count of cases in the state to 17,004. The total count includes 3,635 active COVID-19 cases, 13,186 cases of recoveries from the viral infection, and 183 deaths due to Coronavirus.

( With inputs from ANI )