PANAJI
An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delegation led by party chief Amit Palekar met the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and submitted over one lakh signed petitions demanding safer roads under the party’s ‘BJP Che Burak’ campaign. AAP said that CM has assured to clear all roads before Diwali.
Earlier in the day, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, on the final day of his Goa visit, flagged off a tempo laden with letters in front of the party's office here to be transported to Chief Minister's residence.
“I was always told that the road conditions in Goa are bad. I have personally experienced it now during my visit." He claimed that he was late to a function by one and a half hours on the first day of his visit, as he had to take a longer route to reach the venue to avoid pothole-ridden roads.
"Out of three and a half lakh families in Goa, one lakh have signed. This means one third of the population has signed the letters," he said.
Accusing the state government of “massive corruption” in road construction, Kejriwal said, “The roads crumble within months of being repaired. Citizens who demand fixes are threatened and beaten. Even the Chief Minister has admitted in the Assembly that Goa’s roads are in a bad state.”
He added that several AAP volunteers collecting signatures for the campaign were also threatened but “did not back down.”
Kejriwal further said that Goa’s poor road conditions were damaging its global image. “No foreign tourist leaves India without visiting Goa. When they see such bad and dirty roads, imagine what they think of our country,” he remarked.
After submitting the petitions, AAP Goa President Amit Palekar said the delegation had conveyed the concerns of one lakh families to the Chief Minister.
“The CM has assured us that work will begin within four days and that potholes on several roads will be filled before Diwali,” Palekar said.
AAP has said it will review the government’s progress before Diwali to verify if the assurances are kept.
