india

Updated: Apr 01, 2019 21:40 IST

Goa Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai told a group of Nepali residents in Goa that it is more important to be Goan than Indian in the coastal state because ‘Goa is a little different from the rest of the country.’

Addressing a gathering of the Goa Nepali society, Sardesai also said that he was very conscious that “Goa should remain Goa.”

“Goa is a little different from the rest of the country. We have a different identity, language, (and) ..culture.Our history is different.I do hope that you all will become Goenkars and respect the laws of the land, the culture and traditions of Goa,” Sardesai said.

Sardesai spoke at length on “Goan-ness”, which his Goa Forward Party - a key partner of the state’s BJP-led alliance government - has made one of the key selling points of its unabashedly aggressive agenda of Goan regionalism.

“It is more important than being Indian.Our government in Goa is also very liberal, but at the same time, we are very conscious that Goa should remain Goa..it cannot be just another part of India,” Sardesai said.

Last year, Sardesai sparked a controversy when he referred to tourists from other parts of India as the ‘scum of the earth’ and said that visitors from North India were turning Goa into “another Haryana.”

According to the Goa Nepali Society, there are around as 50,000 Nepalis residing and working in Goa. They are employed mainly in the tourism industry.