Staff Reporter

Panaji

The BJP on Tuesday filed a complaint against the INDIA bloc Congress candidate for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, Viriato Fernandes, over his alleged ‘hate speech’ against the Constitution. The party urged the Election Commission of India to take “strong cognisance of this hate speech” and terminate Fernandes’ candidature.

The state party president, Sadanand Shet Tanavade, filed the complaint, which was handed to the Chief Electoral Officer, Ramesh Verma, in Panaji.

In his election speech on Monday, Fernandes, while stressing the need to have dual citizenship, said that the Constitution was forced upon Goa after Liberation. In the speech, Fernandes was narrating how he explained to Rahul Gandhi in 2019, the reasons for having dual citizenship policy.

“Through the means of this complaint, we at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Goa Pradesh, demand your prompt intervention in the matter,” Tanavade stated.

The BJP told ECI that Fernandes’ views suggest that he has complete disregard for the Constitution, which is the very foundation of the democracy and sovereignty of the country.

“In the speech, Fernandes casts aspersions over the inclusion of Goa into the Indian mainland as a result of Operation Vijay, which led to Goa’s Liberation on December 19, 1961,” claimed the BJP, adding that it not only shows Fernandes’ anti-national mindset but also is an insult to the countless patriots who fought for
Liberation.

Tanavade said that Fernandes claims that the Constitution was forced upon the people of Goa and that they should be entitled to dual citizenship.

“To support this bizarre claim, he says that the people of Goa were not taken into confidence when the Constitution was adopted on January 26, 1950, and also when Goa was Liberated,” the complaint stated.

The BJP said that Fernandes has tried to package his anti-national and anti-Constitution views under the guise of the need for dual citizenship for Goans who need jobs abroad.

It added that Fernandes was suffering from the “remnants of colonial hangover,” which was why he was “making divisive statements in public fora to further a vicious
thought process”.

Tanvade said that the Constitution is a sacred guiding light that defines the power of pluralism, sovereignty, brotherhood, and unity. “The views expressed by Fernandes are unbecoming of a so-called war veteran,” he said, adding that the speech was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct pertaining to the Lok Sabha elections 2024.