‘Find a scapegoat in me’: X user’s open letter to Goa CM amid row over ‘false’ tourism data | Trending

X user and lawyer Ramanuj Mukherjee has hit back after the Goa Tourism Department filed a police complaint accusing him of spreading “false data through his social media handles” that allegedly caused “annoyance to local businesses”. Ramanauj Mukherjee had previously shared data through X posts to allege that foreign tour visits to Goa had dropped significantly(Unsplash) Mukherjee had previously shared data through X posts to allege that foreign tour visits to Goa had dropped significantly, a claim that the state tourism department labelled as “wildly inaccurate”. Now, in an open letter to Goa Chief Miner Pramod Sawant, the lawyer and CEO said that he was “angry about the frivolous complaint” but would accept being a “scapegoat” if it led to the underlying issues being fixed. “I remembered so many faces of Goan people I met when I lived there for a couple of years. This morning, I find myself feeling their sadness and anxiety. If you have a political necessity to find a scapegoat in me, that I conspired with some Chinese propaganda site to hurt Goan tourism, I am ready to suffer the consequences. But unfortunately, this will not solve any of your real problems. Maybe it will act like a temporary band aid to your feelings at best,” he wrote in a lengthy post on X. Mukherjee also claimed that miners in Pramod Sawant’s government had given similar statements to media about decline in tours this year. “I am actually hopeful that this publicity wave will give you some political space necessary to make the changes you desperately need for Goan tourism surge again,” he remarked. Take a look at his full post here: In his message, he spoke about visiting Goa every year as a college student and claimed that tours now feel cheated in the city. “Even if the data shared me was incorrect, you must realise that the data itself did not make the post viral. This issue went viral because it led to an eruption of people’s feelings. Tours went to Goa and felt cheated. They spoke about their grievances,” he added Urging the Chief Miner to address the root of the problem, Mukherjee said that there are no quick fixes. “Will you reform Goan tourism and make it take the next great leap? India deserves no less, Goa deserves no less. You have a lot of work to do, silencing critics on social media is not probably the most important thing right now. I rejoiced when you won your re-election. I am placing my faith in you to put things right. (Also read: Goa Tourism files case against X user for ‘false data’ on foreign tour arrivals) On the other hand, the Goa Tourism Department said, in a press release, that Goa’s international tourism is on a steady path to recovery. “In 2023, foreign tour arrivals rose to over 450,000, a significant increase from pandemic lows. Goa has experienced a robust resurgence in domestic tourism, with 2023 witnessing over 8 million domestic visitors,” it said. The department also said that it was inaccurate to compare Goa to countries like Sri Lanka as it may yield an “inaccurate perspective”. HT.com has reached out to Ramanauj Mukherjee for a statement. This story will be updated upon receiving a response.