Panaji, Feb. 10 (PTI): Launching an attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said if Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wanted, Goa could have been liberated "within hours" in 1947 when India attained independence, but it took 15 years for the state to be freed from Portuguese rule.
Addressing an election rally in Mapusa near here ahead of the February 14 assembly polls, Modi said the Congress has been treating Goa as its "enemy" and same treatment continues even now which can be seen through the constant political instability imposed upon the state by the party.
The Congress has never understood the political culture, aspirations of youths of Goa. They always have had a feeling of enmity towards Goa, the Prime Minister said as he campaigned for the BJP, which is seeking a second straight term in office.
Modi said there are several historical facts that are kept hidden from people.
Two-three days back I had spoken in Parliament and told the truth to the country how the Congress destroyed the liberation movement of Goa, he said.
The Prime Minister said Many people do not know that Goa got liberated 15 years after India's Independence. (After independence) India had a force in the form of the Army, a strong Navy..the work (liberation of Goa) could have happened in a few hours, but the Congress did not do anything for 15 years." Goa, liberated on December 19, 1961, was a part of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman & Diu till May 30, 1987, when it was carved out as a separate state.
Modi said the Congress "abandoned" Goa when people were struggling for its liberation and satyagrahis were facing bullets.
"The Congress government did not come to their rescue, he said, continuing his attack on the country's oldest political party.
Modi said Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, in his speech from the Red Fort had specifically said they will not send the Army to liberate Goa, leaving its people to fend for themselves.
Is this the way to deal with Goa? The Congress had such thoughts about Goa earlier and even now, he said.
The PM said the Congress, which is now seeking votes from Goans, has repeatedly pushed the coastal state, whose history is characterized by political volatility and defections, into instability.
People today have a choice between a development-oriented BJP and an instability-prone Congress party, he said.
Modi said BJP's chief minister Pramod Sawant acts like a mukhya mitra' (friend), while on the other hand there are Congress candidates whose track record of corruption is known to even child in the state.
The PM said for the BJP, the word Goa has a different meaning wherein 'G stands for governance, O for Opportunity and A for aspiration'.
In the field of governance, Goa has become a model state in the country. I congratulate Pramod Sawant and his team. The work that you have put in is huge, he said.
Modi said Sawant not only speaks about initiating welfare schemes, but also ensures they are implemented and completed in time.
The Prime minister mentioned various schemes that have attained full compliance in the state and claimed that 100 per cent coverage of any scheme is a true form of secularism. Modi said under the BJP government, tourism, a key source of revenue and livelihood, has received a massive boost.
This is reflected in figures as from 25 lakh tourists in 2011, when the Congress was in power in the state, their number rose to over 80 lakh in 2019, the PM said.
Goa, which has a 40-member assembly, has decided not to let the wave of good governance diminish so every electorate will vote for the BJP in the next week's assembly polls, he said.
The counting of votes will take place on March 10.