A day after Congress’s South Goa candidate said the Indian Constitution was “forced” on Goans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally in Chhattisgarh that the Congress was making an “a calculated move to break the nation”.
Captain Viriato Fernandes, Congress candidate from South Goa Lok Sabha seat, said Modi had “misinterpreted” his comments, and challenged the PM to an open debate.
Addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district, Modi said Tuesday, “Congress has now started another big game.
Now, the Congress candidate from Goa is saying that the Constitution of India does not apply to Goa.
The Congress candidate is saying the Constitution will not be implemented in Goa.
A day after Congress’s South Goa candidate said the Indian Constitution was “forced” on Goans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally in Chhattisgarh that the Congress was making an “a calculated move to break the nation”.
Captain Viriato Fernandes, Congress candidate from South Goa Lok Sabha seat, said Modi had “misinterpreted” his comments, and challenged the PM to an open debate.
Addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district, Modi said Tuesday, “Congress has now started another big game. First, the Congress MP from Karnataka said that South India would be declared a separate country. Now, the Congress candidate from Goa is saying that the Constitution of India does not apply to Goa. The candidate is saying clearly that the Constitution was ‘forced’ on Goa and that he had told this to the ‘shehzada’ of Congress.”
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On Monday, Fernandes had spoken of a meeting he had with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019. “We had raised 12 demands before him (Rahul), and one of them concerned dual citizenship. He said the demand would not be considered if it is not constitutional. I explained to him that the Indian Constitution was implemented on January 26, 1950. (So), when Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961, you (Central government) forced the Constitution upon us. We were not included in it,” Fernandes said.
Referring to this, PM Modi said, “Is this not an insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar? Is this not an insult of the Constitution of India? The Congress candidate is saying the Constitution will not be implemented in Goa. The people of Jammu and Kashmir also used to say this. You gave your blessings to Modi, today their mouths are shut…”
Modi said that the Goa candidate made his interaction with Rahul public with the consent of the Congress leader. “This is a calculated move to break the nation. Congress has been rejected by a large part of the country. That is why it wants to create such islands in the country,” he said.
Responding to Modi’s remarks, Fernandes said, “I am ready for an open debate with the PM when he comes to Goa. You are challenging a soldier who has served for 26 years in the Indian Navy. When I entered the Navy, I took an oath on the very Constitution that you are trying to amend…”
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At his Chhattisgarh rally, Modi also promised that the BJP would not tamper with the Constitution, and said the Congress allegation that the BJP was planning to end reservation was false. “Take it in writing – forget Modi, forget the BJP, even if Babasaheb Ambedkar himself calls for it, the Constitution will not change.”
