Panaji: Emotionally charged Goans who were provided all out help by former minister Rohan Khaunte to return back from Maldives, where they were stuck without any help, has equated Porvorim MLA to former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Those Goans who arrived in a special flight from Maldives to Mumbai and by road to Goa had all praises for Khaunte, which they have publicly expressed on social media.
Priyanka Kanaya Nagvekar in her FB post has narrated her experience how she was stuck on an island with her five month old child where she had no help from the authorities or contact with family.
“I was with my husband who is working in Maldives when PM Modi suddenly announced lockdown and suspended all flights coming into India. No one paid any attentio to the people like me who were stuck outside our homes with no one available to support us,” she said.
She added “Govt only talks about women empowerment and naari shakti. When it is time to help someone, they say Atmanirbharta. How can I be self sufficient on an island with little money, no job and no one to help to take care of my baby? Thank God for good Samaritans and helpful people around me who arranged my return back to Goa.”
She said “while we were stranded in Maldives with no support of Goa govt. That was the time we all missed Manohar Parrika’s leadership. We even thought if he was alive today he would listen to our appeal and help us return to motherland.”
“We tried contacting every political parties seeking help. Then one of my friend suggested me to contact Rohan Khaunte sir. Finally, when we approached him through social media, he was kind enough to revert back immediately and helped us in all possible ways to get back home safely.”
“Goa will never have a leader like Manohar Parrikar but I will like to mention that the way Rohan Khaunte is working for the Goans the only MLA who is carrying the shadow, legacy and values of Manohar Bhai.”
Another Goan, Ajesh Monu Naik, who also returned from Maldives wrote “after two months of being on an island, it fels great to be back home.”
“In Maldives, thanks to our companies who took good care of us, we contacted several officials from the Govt of Goa but got the same old replies, as if written by a robot.”
“We kept thinking of Late Manohar Parrikar and how much help he would have provided to the Goans in that situation.”
“Finally, when Govt did not respond, we started tagging MLA Rohan Khaunte on social media because we had read how proactive he is. He replied instantly and kept our morale high. He got ;involved personally and tried to do everything in his power to get us back home, from helping us with getting permissions sorted to making sure that we were safe where we were.”
“I must mention that none of us are from his constituency of Porvorim. He had nothing to to gain politically. He did it just to help another Goenkar in need. This is what true leaders are, going all out to help their people across the world. Thank you sir. With you around, we Goans wont miss Manoharbhai, we can see that you are carrying forward his values and legacy.”
