Panaji: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated the BJP headquarters, Atal Bhavan, at Kadamba plateau, but curtailed the function following the tragic incident of a building collapse in Delhi. Shah cancelled the political function in Goa but will attend a Western Zonal Council meeting and the President’s Colour award ceremony of Goa Police.Chief minister Pramod Sawant said a tragic incident had occurred in Delhi in which students had died. Sawant said that in such circumstances, Shah could not proceed with the inauguration of the BJP office. “We have to end this program right now, and he has informed us that he cannot continue this function,” Sawant said.The Union home minister will attend a Western Zonal Council meeting. Five zonal councils, including the Western Zonal Council, were established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. These councils take up broad issues of national importance. The agenda for the meeting includes expediting investigations in rape cases involving women and children, and reviewing the implementation of fast track special courts for faster disposal of such cases.The council will also deliberate on the emergency response support system, food safety standards, and the provision of brick-and-mortar banking facilities within a designated radius of every village. Other issues on the table include nutrition, education, health, power sector reforms, urban planning, strengthening the cooperative system, cybercrime and digital infrastructure, among others.Shah is the chairperson of the Western Zonal Council, while the chief minister of Goa serves as its vice-chairperson. The meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the ministry of home affairs.The council also has a standing committee of chief secretaries. Issues proposed by states are first discussed by this committee, and those that remain unresolved are then taken up at the zonal council meeting for consideration.Goa Police, whose origins trace back to the Policia do Estado da India, established by a Portuguese decree in April 1946, will be awarded the President’s Colour — the highest honour conferred on a military unit or police force. With this, Goa Police joins a select group of forces to have received the President’s Colour.
