Opposition leaders in Goa on Thursday criticized the state police for detaining villagers who were protesting against a mega housing project in Karapur Sarvan in north Goa, saying the ruling BJP government in the state is using the same dictatorial practices used by the Portuguese to suppress people’s votes.
The police action took place in Panaji, close to a ceremony marking Goa Revolution Day in the state, which commemorates a public meeting held in Margao in 1946, during which freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia issued a clarion call for freedom from the Portuguese.
Opposition leaders like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal also joined the protesters to demand the government to issue a stop work order to the developers of the project. But the police stopped the protesters, put them on buses and took them to Old Goa, where they were held until the evening.
Kejriwal condemned the police action. “The BJP government intends to hand over lands in Karapur to builders, with the aim of completely destroying Karapur. The people of Karapur wanted to come to Azad Maidan to pay homage to their martyrs, but were detained. Today Goa Revolution Day is being celebrated. No one ever imagined that Goa would one day have a more dictatorial government than the British and Portuguese government. Just as the arrogance of the British and Portuguese was broken, one day the arrogance of Goa will be broken.” The BJP will also break, he added.
In a Facebook post, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Yuri Alemao said Prime Minister Pramod Sawant talked about sustainable development but did exactly the opposite.
“The BJP has become a Goa Sarkar like Salazar. The police, turned into puppets at the behest of ministers, are arresting citizens who are protesting for their legitimate demands. Freedom of expression has been crushed under this government. People detained in Saravan Karapur should be released without delay,” he said.
A police officer said the villagers were arrested over concerns over a law and order problem and were detained for several hours at Old Goa police station. No case has been registered against them.
