Information and Broadcasting Minister Jaipal Reddy has broken his silence on the issue of making Goa the permanent venue for the International Film Festival of India.
"There are no rival claimants and there is no politics involved in choosing the permanent venue. Such matters are governed by what is good for the film industry," he said at the 35th International Film Festival of India, when asked repeatedly whether Goa would be the permanent IFFI venue.
His remarks came after the Opposition party in the state, the Congress, demanded that Goa be made the permanent IFFI venue. The state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has supported the demand from the beginning.
Bollywood and the south Indian film industry have also agreed upon Goa.
Reddy said Goa is a magnificent locale for the festival. "If we thought contrary to this, we would not have held it here this year.
"But Goa is still not the permanent venue. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed only for a year," he added.
It would continue to be the venue if the state government cleared organisational, administrative and managerial hurdles, he said.
