Goa would’ve been liberated earlier if Patel lived a bit longer: Modi

Panaji: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it would not have taken so long for Goa to be liberated from Portuguese rule had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel lived a bit longer. He said the delay in Goa’s liberation meant that several freedom fighters continued to lose their lives in the struggle to free Goa.
Modi arrived in Goa to attend Liberation Day celebrations at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa's Taleigao.
“Thirty-one satyagrahis lost their lives in 1955, including youngsters like Karnail Singh Banipal of Punjab. These brave freedom fighters were restless because at the time a part of India was still under foreign rule. Today, I want to say that if Sardar Vallabbhai Patel had to live a bit longer, Goa would not have to wait for so long for its liberation,” Modi said in his address to Goa on the state’s 60th Liberation Day celebrations held at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium on the outskirts of Panaji.
Taking a dig at the then government under Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi said that a freedom fighter like Mohan Ranade continued to languish in Portuguese prison even after Goa was liberated. The issue had to be finally raised by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Parliament back then, he added.
Recalling the sacrifice of Pune-based Ranade for Goa’s freedom, Modi said: “We must remember Mohan Ranade, who was sent to jail for fighting for Goa’s freedom. He was kept in a prison in Portugal and had to live through unspeakable difficulties. Even after Goa’s liberation, he remained in prison. At the time, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who raised the issue in Parliament.”