Raising a pitch against the Congress ahead of the Goa Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Jawaharlal Nehru’s leadership would have been decisive had Goa been liberated in 1947 instead of becoming independent. go. Portuguese gambling in 1961.
In his second campaign tour of the coastal state, which goes to polls on February 14, Mr Shah said the people of Goa have only two options to choose from – the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi or Prime Minister Narendra Modi. led BJP.
“History is witness that if PM Nehru had taken decisive action, Goa would have become independent much earlier, in August 1947 itself… India is celebrating its 75th anniversary while Goa is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee. It took a long time to gain the independence of Goa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue in Parliament yesterday as to who was responsible for Goa’s delayed liberation,” the Home Minister said while addressing a public rally in North Goa’s Bicholim.
With the Goa elections in mind, Mr Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, accusing the country’s first prime minister of refusing to interfere in Portuguese-occupied Goa because he “was not involved in his international affairs”. “Was more concerned about. image”.
Shah, who is campaigning for BJP’s Bicholim candidate Rajesh Patnekar, said it is for the people of Goa to decide which of the two parties they want to give their mandate.
“The people of Goa have experienced the rule of both Congress and BJP. The Congress governments were marked by instability and anarchy, while the BJP brought stability and rule of law to the state,” the home minister said.
Mr. Patnekar, a three-time MLA from Bicholim and the current Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, had earlier refused to contest from this seat. He was reportedly withdrawn by the party leadership after he was promised a cabinet berth in the next BJP government.
tribute to parrikar
Appreciating the contribution of late BJP leader Manohar Parrikar in the creation of Goa, Shri Shah said that the former Defense Minister and three-time Chief Minister had dedicated his entire life to ensure the development of the state.
He said, “This time BJP is aiming to take hat-trick in Goa and will fulfill its dream of ‘Golden Goa’… Present Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has already announced that six months after the formation of our party. Mining will resume within the state.” government,” he said.
Mr Shah lambasted the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the electoral fray.
“The new parties that have come to Goa have neither the potential to develop Goa nor the country… Remember TMC President Mamata Banerjee, Congress and all other parties have abolished Article 370 in Kashmir,” he said. was strongly opposed to. These parties were claiming that rivers of blood would flow in Kashmir, but nothing like this happened and the BJP was successful in bringing the rule of law there.
Mr Shah said people had to choose either the BJP or a ‘dynastic party’ like the Congress. Despite its ‘anti-dynastic’ posture, the BJP itself has given tickets to the spouses of its candidates for the Goa election, most notably Deviya Rane, wife of state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, who has been fielded from Porim – who It is the stronghold of the Rane dynasty. Congressman Pratapsinh Rane, who is Deviya Rane’s father-in-law, has won a record 11 times. Similarly, it has also given ticket to Jennifer Monserrate, wife of sitting Panaji MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate. Ms. Monserrate, a cabinet minister in the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government, is the sitting MLA from Talegao, North Goa. However, the party refused to field Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal Parrikar, forcing him to quit the party and contest as an independent candidate against Mr. Monserrate.
With less than five days left for elections, the BJP has opened its top guns to secure a majority in the 40-seat Goa Assembly. Prime Minister Modi himself will address a public meeting in Goa on Thursday.
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