Panaji, Dec 16(TOI): Town and country planning minister Vijai Sardesai said on Saturday that the only way for Goa to play a decisive role in national politics is to have a strong regional party.

The Goa Forward Party (GFP) president also highlighted the successes of regional parties in Telangana, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Sardesai made the pitch to the Goan diaspora in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, as he urged them to engage with the GFP and the state government during the policy-making process.

He was speaking at the launch of Goans Connecting Goans (GCG), an initiative of UAE Goans in Dubai.

Explaining his thoughts on regional politics in the backdrop of recent political developments, Sardesai said, “The success of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha and DMK in Tamil Nadu has shown beyond doubt that regionalist parties are more efficient, trustworthy and powerful in our local political landscape”.

The minister rued that Goa has lagged behind in forming a true regionalist party, which has resulted in “wanton interference in creating policies and decisions skewed” against Goans.

“The only way to play a decisive role in national politics is to be a strong regionalist party. Otherwise, Goa, which has been everybody’s playground except for Goans, will continue to be so,” he said.

Sardesai said that GFP had been formed for the welfare of Goans residing in Goa and abroad. He said that the Manohar Parrikar-led government would ensure that sufficient jobs were created in Goa so that more people did not have to leave the state in search of employment opportunities.

The TCP minister also assured the audience that land reforms would be brought in to prevent property fraud.