MAPUSA: Aldona Congress MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira on Thursday demanded the immediate arrest of the assailants who attacked activist Rama Kankonkar failing which the state would be forced to draw the conclusion that the Chief Minister is in league with the assailants.
“I demand that a special task force (STF) be formed to investigate this dastardly attack on Rama Kankonkar. We stand by Rama Kankonkar and we will be assured that we take this forward to ensure that there is justice. An assault on RK means there is an assault on each and everyone of us, we cannot allow these things to escalate and we don’t know what may happen to us tomorrow to us or to our family members,” Ferreira said.
“These people need to be brought to book. Whoever is behind it is also nabbed and jailed, I demand that the CM takes action immediately, else we will have to ask for his resignation without any further delay. If he is clearly in league with these assailants,” he said.
“What has been done in the manner in which he was brutally assaulted is clearly an attack on democracy and it is a clear message that there are people who want to silence the voice of the opposition or of the activists, who are highlighting or exposing corruption, destruction of the environment or certain nexus between politicians and certain criminal activities,” Adv Ferreira said adding that “Goa sadly is becoming a lawless state” which he said “definitely it cannot happen unless there is political patronage.”
“Goa has been a peaceful state, Goa has been incident free except for a few isolated instances over the years. But ever since the BJP has come to power, we are seeing goondagiri, we are seeing assaults on opposition leaders, opposition parties or anybody who opposes the government — their MLAs or their ministers,” he said.
“Even these assailants are being given protection by the state and the state machinery while the innocent victims are being arrested or even harassed and no justice is doled out to them,” he said.
“The CM owes an explanation as to what is going on in the state,” he said.
