Goa’s Constitution imposed: Congress nominee’s comments anger the PM

Panaji: Prime Minister Narendra Modi seized the opportunity to criticize the opposition party and the BJP for filing a complaint with the EC on Tuesday in response to South Goa Congress nominee Viriato Fernandes’s statement that the Constitution was “forced” on the coastal state following its freedom from Portuguese rule.

Even as he garnered backing from his party in the coastal state, a stubborn Fernandes said he was ready for a discussion on his contentious remarks as well as on matters like “the destruction of Goa’s identity”, unemployment, inflation, crime, and corruption under the BJP government. The former Navy member who is now a lawmaker said that his remarks shouldn’t be misinterpreted for political effect. Speaking at a South Goa election rally on Monday, Fernandes mentioned his discussion with Congressman Rahul Gandhi before to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He claimed he had informed Gandhi that “the Indian Constitution was forced upon us when Goa was liberated in the year 1961.”

His statements reverberated in distant Chhattisgarh, where Prime Minister Modi attacked the Congress for them and called them a “ploy” to split the nation while speaking at a BJP campaign event in Sakti district.

Currently, a Goan Congress candidate claims that Goa is exempt from the Indian Constitution. He claims that Goa was compelled to abide with the Constitution.This is an affront to Babasaheb Ambedkar, is it not? This violates the Constitution, don’t you think? Is this not a violation of the Indian Constitution? The PM enquired.

Modi went on to say that the Congress was rejecting the Constitution in Goa today and would do the same across the nation tomorrow. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that Fernandes’ remarks blatantly mirrored the Congress party’s “Bharat Todo Abhiyaan” (splitting the nation). He had called the remarks disgusting on Monday.

Sawant said in a video statement that the Congress postponed Goa’s freedom from Portuguese dominion and kept Jammu and Kashmir apart. As the BJP leader pointed out, “Fernandes’ statement is an insult to all Goans, freedom fighters who struggled to liberate Goa, the nation (India), and the Indian Constitution.”

He said, “The mindset of Fernandes reflects the pro-Portuguese behavior as well as the ideology of the Congress’s Bharat Todo Abhiyaan.” The chief minister questioned if Fernandes’ 2019 chat with Gandhi—during which he made the divisive comments—affected his chances of receiving a ticket for the 2024 election. Sawant questioned the Congress MLAs’ silence on the matter and said that everyone should denounce Fernandes’ comments. In an effort to put further pressure on the Congress, the BJP filed a complaint against Fernandes with the Election Commission on Tuesday.

The head of the Goa BJP, Sadanand Shet Tanavade, filed a complaint with Chief Electoral Officer Ramesh Verma, claiming that Fernandes’ statements violated the Model Code of Conduct and were a “clear case of spewing venom against the sacred Constitution of India.”