VASCO
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday evening claimed that the Arpora fire tragedy, which claimed 25 lives, reflected “the scale of corruption that has taken root under the BJP’s 13-year rule in Goa”.
Kejriwal was speaking to reporters at Dabolim airport on his arrival in the State for a three-day tour to campaign for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat elections. A large crowd of supporters, along with MLA Venzy Viegas and other party leaders, was present at the airport to greet Kejriwal.
Kejriwal noted that the club involved in the tragedy was operating without construction permissions, without an operational licence and without mandatory fire-safety measures, despite repeated warnings. “Yet the club continued to run openly, which shows how deeply governance systems have been compromised,” he said.
Kejriwal added that the BJP government had delivered “only corruption, pothole-ridden roads and frustration among Goans,” and argued that residents never had a viable political alternative until now.
Stressing that AAP aims to position itself as that alternative, he said the upcoming ZP elections on December 20 would mark the beginning of political change in the State ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.
Appealing for public support, Kejriwal urged Goans to vote for AAP candidates in large numbers, stating that a strong ZP mandate would help usher in “the transformation Goa urgently needs”.
