{"id":112999,"date":"2026-06-18T20:43:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=112999"},"modified":"2026-06-18T20:43:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:13:28","slug":"arvind-kejriwal-paid-tribute-to-goas-freedom-fighters-at-azad-maidan-points-out-bjps-salazarshahi-for-detaining-protestors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=112999","title":{"rendered":"Arvind Kejriwal paid tribute to Goa\u2019s Freedom fighters at Azad Maidan; Points out BJP\u2019s Salazarshahi for detaining protestors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Goa Khabar : AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, along with Goa Prabhari Atishi, Goa State President Valmiki Naik and other state leaders, paid tribute to Goa\u2019s freedom fighters at Azad Maidan on the occasion of Goa Revolution Day. Arvind Kejriwal also strongly condemned the detention of Karapur protestors who came to peacefully pay tribute at Azad Maidan and protest for their demands to scrap the Lodha Mega Project.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remembering the great freedom fighters of Goa\u2019s liberation struggle, Arvind Kejriwal said that on 18 June 1946, people defied the arbitrary curtailment of civil liberties by Salazar\u2019s dictatorship and marched to Margao, launching a revolutionary struggle and a civil disobedience movement that ultimately led to Goa\u2019s liberation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kejriwal stated that it was deeply ironic that on the very day Goa commemorates the beginning of the historic struggle for freedom, peaceful protestors from Karapur village, who have been fighting against the Lodha Mega Project, were detained while marching to Azad Maidan to demand the scrapping of the Lodha project. He pointed out that even women participating peacefully in the protest were detained by the police. Arvind Kejriwal said that Salazar\u2019s dictatorship denied people their basic rights and civil liberties, and today the BJP Government is using similar authoritarian tactics by detaining peaceful protestors who have been fighting for more than 75 days to protect their land, forests and livelihoods. He stated that just as Goans united and broke the arrogance of Portuguese rule, they will once again unite to defeat the arrogance of the BJP Government and throw the party out of Goa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kejriwal assured full support to the people of Karapur and said that the struggle must continue until the Lodha Mega Project is scrapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After paying tribute at Azad Maidan, AAP President Valmiki Naik, MLA Cruz Silva, Senior Vice President Sandesh Teleikar Dessai and other State leaders visited the Old Goa Police Station to meet the detained Karapur protestors and expressed solidarity with them. The leaders strongly condemned the BJP Government\u2019s dictatorial practice of detaining and suppressing those who raise their voices against injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AAP Goa State President Valmiki Naik stated that on this day, 80 years ago, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and Dr. Juliao Menezes along with people of Goa marched to Margao to rise against Portuguese rule, launched a revolutionary movement and were detained by the authorities. He said that eighty years later, the people of Karapur who came to peacefully protest were similarly detained by the BJP Government\u2019s police machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valmiki Naik questioned how the government could justify what it called \u201cpreventive detention\u201d when citizens were merely attempting to pay tribute and protest peacefully at Azad Maidan on Goa Revolution Day. He stated that history appears to be repeating itself, as the same spirit of resistance that inspired Goans in 1946 is visible today among people of Karapur fighting to protect Goa\u2019s land and future. He added that just as Goans united and fought until Goa was liberated, they will once again unite and fight until the BJP Government is removed from power. Valmiki Naik stated that the government is terrified of public dissent, which is why it continues attempting to suppress the voices of ordinary people but the dissent will not stop until BJP meets the same fate as Portuguese colonisers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AAP MLA Cruz Silva said that as Goa celebrates Revolution Day, it is becoming increasingly clear that the BJP Government is adopting the same dictatorial methods once used by the Salazar. He stated that the people of Karapur have been demanding the scrapping of the Lodha Project for more than 75 days, yet the government has refused to listen to their concerns.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz Silva claimed that the government is selling Goa in wholesale, while those trying to protect the state\u2019s land, environment and identity are being detained and suppressed. He said that the protest was completely peaceful, but the BJP Government is so afraid of dissent that it is attempting to break the unity of people who are standing up against destructive projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AAP leaders reiterated their full support to the people of Karapur and assured that the party will continue standing with every movement working to protect Goa\u2019s land, environment and democratic rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Goa Khabar : AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, along with Goa Prabhari Atishi, Goa State President Valmiki Naik and other state leaders, paid tribute to Goa\u2019s freedom fighters at Azad Maidan on the occasion of Goa Revolution Day. Arvind Kejriwal also strongly condemned the detention of Karapur protestors who came to peacefully pay tribute at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":113000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,155],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-112999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-6","category-155","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113001,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112999\/revisions\/113001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/113000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}