Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa on Sunday launched its statewide campaign #BJPCheBurak by staging a dramatic protest in Panaji, where party leaders planted BJP flags inside potholes to symbolically hold the ruling party accountable for Goa’s crumbling roads.
As AAP leaders sat on potholes during the protest, an ambulance carrying a patient passed by, which the party said reflected the dangerous state of roads under the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government.
AAP Goa President Adv. Amit Palekar lashed out at the government, saying, “This is the reality of BJP’s governance. Fourteen hundred crore rupees have been spent and what we have is a capital city full of potholes. Some of these craters can swallow a scooter. So we thought, why not plant BJP flags here? After all, every pothole in Goa belongs to them.”
Palekar further alleged that the PWD only responds after AAP exposes problems. He said AAP’s new helpline has already been flooded with complaints, which will be compiled and submitted to the government.
AAP General Secretary (Organisation) Shrikrishna Parab dismissed the PWD’s pothole dashboard as a “joke,” saying it falsely shows 100% complaints resolved. “Just step outside and see the reality. The government is not just incompetent, it is shamelessly dishonest,” he said.
Working President Rajesh Kalgantukar expanded the criticism beyond roads, saying, “Not just roads, every department under BJP is full of buraks. Even the treasury has holes. Where the taxpayers’ money goes, through which hole, nobody knows.”
Vice President Sunil Signapurkar highlighted alleged corruption in contracts. “Three months ago, tenders for pre-monsoon work were released. Within days of repair, potholes returned. Now post-monsoon tenders will be given to the same failed contractors. If BJP is serious, it should seize contractors’ deposits and hold engineers accountable. But instead of punishing failure, they reward it.”
AAP said it will continue to take its #BJPCheBurak campaign to every corner of Goa until the government acts against contractors and PWD engineers responsible for shoddy road works.
