Margao/Panaji: Goa reacted strongly to the arrest of activist Rama Kankonkar, saying that the “government is showing dictatorial tendencies against voices of dissent.” Taking strong objection to the arrest, the opposition parties described it as “vindictive and unjust.”
The Congress condemning the “illegal arrest” of Kankonkar has demanded an action against the real culprits. President of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, Amit Patkar said that “Kankonkar is a dedicated activist fighting to protect Goa from the reckless destruction caused by the corrupt BJP government.”
“His arrest is yet another example of the BJP’s dictatorial tactics under Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who is determined to silence every voice that resists his agenda of turning Goa into a concrete jungle,” he added.
South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes said that “the arrest has shown dictatorship attitude of the BJP government.” “It is thanks to the role of the activists that Goa is what it is today otherwise, Goa would have been finished long ago,” he said, adding that Kankonkar has been working hard to save Goa. “I will raise these kind of issues of intolerance in the Parliament,” he said.
“The registration of the FIR against Kankonkar is illegal and clear misuse of police powers. It’s an attempt at censorship of activists and to instill fear among the citizens,” said Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira, adding that he would stand by Kankonkar in this matter.
The Goa Forward Party (GFP) termed the arrest of Kankonkar as a “wake-up call”, including members of the ST community. GFP chief Vijai Sardesai, said that Kankonkar has been arrested through an overnight act of police, even though he had protection under the Constitution, thus giving a clear picture that “Goa is in a state of undeclared emergency”.
He termed it an “attempt to silence the voices of people by arresting activists fighting for the cause of Goa.”
“This should not become precedence as any political party that will come to power in the future would do the same atrocities on the public,” he added, appealing to all the conscientious Goans to condemn this “undemocratic, anti-Scheduled Tribe and anti-Goan act.”
State chief of Aam Aadmi Party, Amit Palekar, said, “Kankonkar has been working as the voice of Scheduled Tribe community for many years, and as a part of this task he was exposing the ill-doings of the government.” He further demanded that all associations of the ST community need to come on the street to support Kankonkar.
Activist Abhijit Prabhudesai, who fights for environmental protection, said that in a democracy, the government should welcome criticism from citizens, no matter how harsh or forceful it is. The measures taken by the government and the police against the activists only reinforce the public’s belief that this government cannot tolerate being questioned.
He felt that “there is something to hide by the government with this act.”
Earlier, in the day, large number of activists and concerned citizens gathered outside the Panaji police station condemning the arrest of Kankonkar.
Politics & activism cannot give immunity from wrongdoings: BJP
Special Correspondent
Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party, on Saturday justified the recent arrest of the social activist, Rama Kankonkar for allegedly threatening Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
BJP state spokesperson Giriraj Pai Vernekar said that, “In Goa, opposition politicians and activists believe that speaking against the government should grant them immunity from their own wrongdoings.”
“They collude with fugitives, face cases of cheque bounce and fraud, issue death threats to the elected Chief Minister, and then cry vendetta when action is taken,” he added, pointing out, “Politics and activism cannot be an insurance policy to shield wrongdoing.”
