Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: In its statement, Lodha Ventures said the advertisement was published on the website of one of its channel partners, and that after it came to the company’s notice, it “immediately instructed” the partner to remove the advertisement. It was removed from the website on July 31, according to the statement.
“We sincerely apologise for the hurt caused to the sentiments of the people of Goa. We deeply respect the culture and heritage of Goa and we are extremely grateful for the support and hospitality extended to us by the people of Goa,” the statement said.
The Goa government has termed the contents of a realty developer’s advertisement “objectionable” and “obnoxious”, and said it “hurt the sentiments of the Goan people”.
In a notice sent Thursday to the realty group, The House of Abhinandan Lodha, Goa’s Home Department directed that the advertisement for a real estate project captioned “Delhi, rulers of India, now conquer Goa” be withdrawn.
Lodha Ventures, the parent company of The House of Abhinandan Lodha, apologised for the “hurt caused to the sentiments of the people of Goa”. It said the ad was published on the website of one of its channel partners and that the ad had since been removed.
“Statements in the advertisement like ‘Conquer Goa’ are highly objectionable. Four hundred fifty years of Portuguese rule in Goa came to an end in just 36 hours, as Portugal surrendered the territory to the Indian armed forces in 1961. Such obnoxious claims of conquering Goa tend to hurt the sentiments of proud residents of independent Goa. The Home Department may immediately warn and direct the group to withdraw such controversial advertisements,” the CMO letter had read.
