PANAJI
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chose the historic Goa Revolution Day to hold a protest against the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government, calling its governance the “worst” and “most corrupt” since Liberation.
The two AAP MLAs – Cruz Silva and Venzy Viegas – Party State chief Amit Palekar and volunteers first paid floral tributes at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Azad Maidan and then marched towards the BJP party office, where they were blocked by the police.
The AAP protesters carried along with them an effigy of Sawant and 11 faces of his cabinet ministers depicting the Hindu mythological demon ‘Ravan’.
The AAP protesters also slammed the BJP government for cancelling the so-called ‘Free Water’ scheme, exposing their government’s contempt for the common man.
“The BJP Sarkar’s so-called ‘Free Water’ scheme was a poorly designed gimmick, now scrapped like every other BJP promise. This is a classic case of BJP jumla before elections, betrayal after. We demand that the government reverse this anti-people decision immediately,” Viegas said while talking to the media covering the protest.
Cruz Silva said Goa is currently facing the worst governance since Liberation.
“BJP has given corruption, misrule, and policies that threaten our land, culture, and identity. The true tribute to our freedom fighters is to pledge to remove this BJP government and save Goa,” Silva said.
Palekar slammed Sawant’s justification for scrapping the free water scheme – that Goans were misusing the scheme by installing extra meters.
“Even if 50,000 families misused the scheme, the maximum loss would be Rs 6 crore a year. That’s nothing compared to the crores BJP spent on a swearing-in ceremony in 2022,” Palekar said.
