Panaji, Dec 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated multiple development projects at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, on the occasion of Goa Liberation Day celebrations.
PM Modi inaugurated a super speciality block at Goa Medical College, New South Goa District Hospital, aviation skill development centre at Mopa Airport and the gas-insulated substation at Dabolim-Navelim in Margao.
During the event organised at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Modi also felicitated the freedom fighters and veterans of 'Operation Vijay' as part of Goa Liberation Day celebrations.
Addressing the event, the prime minister said "Goa came under Portugal rule when the other major part of the country was ruled by the Mughals. But even centuries later, neither Goa has forgotten its Indianness, nor India has forgotten its Goa".
The prime minister lauded freedom fighters, including those from outside Goa, who fought for the state's freedom. When India got Independence, they still continued the fight to liberate Goa, he added.
"They ensured that the struggle to liberate Goa did not end after India's independence," he said.
PM Modi remembered former Goa chief minister late Manohar Parrikar, saying he had understood the potential of the state and nurtured it for welfare of the people.
"The country through the character of Manohar Parrikar Ji saw how honest, talented, and hardworking the people of Goa are. Through his life, we saw that how one can remain devoted to his state, his people till his last breath," he added.
PM Modi also congratulated the Goa government for topping in various parameters of good governance.
The state has topped on parameters like per capita income, exclusive toilet facility for girls in schools, tap water in every household, door to door waste collection, and food security, he said.