Under Nehru, Congress tried to destroy Goa Liberation movement, alleges PM Modi

‘History of Congress’ ties towards Goa has always been one of enmity’

@the_news_21 

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lambasted the Congress for not having understood “Goa’s political culture, its aspirations or the dreams of its youth. He further reiterated his allegation that the Congress’ under the leadership of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had tried to ‘destroy’ the Goa liberation movement that was fighting to overthrow Portuguese rule.

He was addressing a mega-rally in Mapusa in North Goa on the penultimate day of election campaigning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi once reiterated his recent allegation that the Congress under Nehru had allegedly delayed Goa’s Liberation (Goa was finally liberated in December 19, 1961) for nearly 15 years since the country’s Independence in 1947. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked, “The history of the Congress’ relationship towards Goa has been one of enmity towards the coastal State. There are many things suppressed in history. The truth has not been out for five or six decades. Recently, I had said in Parliament how the Congress (under PM Nehru) tried to destroy the Goa Liberation Movement.” He further alleged that what could have been achieved (Goa’s Liberation) in hours, the Congress delayed it for 15 years.  

The Prime Minister further stated, “All this while, the ‘satyagrahis’ in Goa kept on tolerating atrocities and facing bullets, but Congress did not help them. One can listen to Prime Minister Nehru’s speech from the Red Fort wherein he said that a force would not be sent to Goa.” He further remarked that the Congress did not liberate Goa sooner in spite of the country having a strong Army and Navy even then. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi further accused the Congress of hurtling Goa on the path of instability. He said, “Today on one side, there is a progressive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while on the other side, an unstable Congress… On one hand, the BJP is led by a young leader (Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant) while on the other, we have the Congress leaders with a proven track-record of corruption. Goa’s choice is clear. Its people are with BJP.” 

With barely four days left before the 40 member Goa Assembly goes to the polls (on February 14), the Prime Minister lashed out at the other parties (Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party – AAP) in the poll fray, claiming that they had no understanding or vision for the coastal State. 

The PM added, “These days, Goans are astonished at seeing some new faces in the poll fray. Such parties are not even aware of the feelings of Goans. They have no agenda, vision nor any understanding of the State. They cannot understand what schemes they will promise, hence they are showing the BJP’s ongoing works in the State as ‘promises’ in their manifestos.” 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, further remarked that the absence of late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar always affected him whenever he came to Goa, and praised the late BJP MLA of Mapusa, Francis d’ Souza (whose son Joshua is the party’s candidate for this election) as “a true representative of Goan culture and the BJP’s principles.”

Targeting the Congress again, Modi said that erstwhile regimes in Goa had turned the State into “an ATM for their corruption” while remarking that it was at Panaji’s ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rally in 2014 that he had first given the call for a Congress-mukt Bharat (‘Congress-free India’). 

He further added, “Goa has its own identity and the State takes into its stride all religions and communities… Those who don’t care about this (read Congress) have made it an ATM for their corruption.” 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi argued that Goa, in the BJP’s parlance, stood for ‘Governance, Opportunity, Aspirations (GOA). He added that it was only the BJP that spoke of inclusive development and was the first to look seriously at the progress in the coastal State. 

The Prime Minister further stated, “Earlier, during Congress rule, there used to be only seasonal tourism in Goa. But the BJP increased facilities so that now we have tourists visiting Goa round the year.” 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant led BJP government in Goa for having completed 100% of several of the Central schemes – be it vaccinations or giving free rations to the poorest of the poor. He added that these achievements were “not just some government figure but a living example of BJP’s capabilities.” 

In the end the Prime Minister remarked, “Reaching out to all beneficiaries without any discriminatory or selfish politics means secularism in the real sense… reaching out to the very last beneficiary automatically removes the barriers of religion and caste.”