Lok Sabha Elections 2024: A huge political row erupted on Tuesday (April 23) after Congress candidate from South Goa, Viriato Fernandes, said on Monday that then PM Jawaharlal Nehru had said that Goa will decide its own destiny after it was liberated from Portuguese rule, but "this did not happen", and the Indian Constitution was "forced" on the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the grand old party over the remarks and said that it was the “ploy to break the country”.
PM Modi slams Congress candidate's remark
Speaking at an election rally in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district, the Prime Minister said that the grand old party has been indulging in appeasement since day one after independence as since a “huge part of the country” has rejected Congress, therefore the party “wants to create such small islands”.
"Congress is not able to digest the participation of Dalits, Adivasis and backward classes in power. Now the party has started a big game. Earlier a Congress MP from Karnataka said south India should be declared a separate country, now a Congress candidate from Goa said the Indian Constitution is not applicable in Goa," he said.
"He is saying the Constitution was forced on Goa. He has told this to 'shehzade' (apparently referring to Rahul Gandhi)...Isn't this an insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar? Isn't this an insult to the Constitution? Is this not tampering with the Constitution of India?" the prime minister asked.
"People of Jammu and Kashmir also used to say...You gave blessings (to BJP), now their mouths are shut. Now the Constitution of India is in force there (after the abrogation of Article 370)," he said.
Ploy to break country: PM Modi
The Congress candidate (in Goa) made this statement publicly and said he told his leader about it, which means his leader has given a tacit consent to it, PM Modi said, in apparent swipe at Rahul Gandhi.
"It is a ploy to break the country. A huge part of the country has rejected Congress, and therefore the party wants to create such small islands," he alleged.
He said that today the Congress was rejecting the Constitution in Goa and tomorrow it would do the sin of doing the same in the entire country.
"Appeasement and vote-bank politics are in the DNA of Congress. For appeasement, they will not wait for a second to snatch rights of adivasis, Dalits and backwards," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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