Panaji, Nov 25 (IANS): After Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Wednesday slammed the new SOPs announced by Maharashtra government to regulate entry into the western state.

Ajgaonkar claimed that the new Standard Operating Procedures, which make testing mandatory for all persons travelling to the state from Delhi, Gujarat, Goa and Rajasthan, was against the Home Ministry's pan-India SOPs.

"We cannot stop tourists. We welcome tourists. We follow MHA guidelines. Only Maharashtra has issued its (new) guidelines. They do not allow people into the state without checking. We have not received any such instruction. Their orders are against MHA instructions," Ajgaonkar said.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that the guideline to mandate antigen tests on symptomatic persons was pointless.

Rane had also said that the Maharashtra government's new SOPs were a "joke because half of Mumbai and Delhi are (holidaying) in Goa".