Chandigarh, Sep 28 (PTI) Hitting out at the Congress, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the state could have been freed from Portuguese rule much before 1961 had the government of the day paid attention to the popular sentiment.Sawant said this while addressing a press conference here after he flew down to visit Ambala in Haryana to meet Charanjeet Kaur (84), whose husband Karnail Singh Benipal was killed at Patradevi in 1955 while fighting for Goa"s liberation.The chief minister said Goa would not have had to wait for 14 more years for its liberation after India achieved freedom in 1947 and some of the "satyagrahis", who were part of a large group that had assembled under the banner of Goa Vimochan Sahayak Samiti, would not have been killed by the Portuguese had the Centre paid attention to the popular mood.Taking a jibe at the Congress"s "Bharat Jodo Yatra", he said "if a Bharat Jodo Andolan was launched then, so many people would not have had to sacrifice their lives".Sawant handed over a cheque for Rs 10 lakh to Kaur in Ambala"s Barola village."Goa is eternally indebted to the satyagrahis and freedom fighters who laid down their lives for its liberation," the chief minister, who was accompanied by BJP"s Ambala City MLA Aseem Goel, said.Goa, which attained statehood in 1987, was liberated on December 19, 1961 from the Portuguese rule.Benipal sacrificed his life at the young age of 25 for Goa"s liberation. He was hit by bullets on the chest on August 15, 1955 at Patradevi in Goa.Benipal"s native village Issru is located near Punjab"s Ludhiana."Our country attained freedom in 1947. However, it took another 14 years for Goa to be liberated in 1961. In 1955, the Goa Vimochan Samiti gave a clarion call to freedom fighters around the country that Goa should be liberated and a date to assemble in groups was decided by them in August 1955," Sawant said.He said a large group of freedom fighters tried to enter Goa through the Patradevi border on August 15, 1955, "but the government did not pay attention and they had to attain martyrdom. Had the government paid a little attention, Goa could have been liberated on August 15, 1955".A young woman from Madhya Pradesh was holding the tricolour and leading the group of satyagrahis at Patradevi, Sawant said, adding that she was shot at by the Portuguese soldiers in an attempt to dissuade the group from marching ahead.He said the woman did not let the tricolour fall on the ground even after being hit by bullets.At this juncture, Beniwal rushed forward and dared the Portuguese soldiers to shoot at him instead of attacking an unarmed woman.He bared his chest calling for the bullets after which the Portuguese soldiers shot him dead.His wife, who was 17 at that time, never got married again."What is recorded in history is that more than 30 people from around the country were killed at Patradevi," Sawant said, adding that it was the biggest tragedy in India after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.A memorial is being set up at Patradevi in the memory of those who laid down their lives for Goa"s liberation, the chief minister said.He said Benipal"s family has requested that the road from Patradevi to the new international airport in Goa should be named after him and the government has agreed to it.Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also said if Jawaharlal Nehru wanted, Goa could have been liberated "within hours" in 1947.Sawant said Kaur was overcome by emotions when he met her and had tears in her eyes.Benipal"s cousins were also present on the occasion and they invited Sawant to visit Issru in Punjab"s Khanna.On Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, Sawant said "he indulged in looting Goa".He said the entire country is observing "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" and unsung heroes are being remembered.Sixty years of Goa"s liberation are also being observed, the chief minister said, adding that his government organised a function on August 15 to remember those who laid down their lives for the state"s freedom.Certificates of honour were presented to the relatives of such freedom fighters from Goa and 10 others from various parts of the country, he said.A relative of Benipal was also present at the event. Sawant said he had then told him that he would visit Ambala to meet Kaur and seek her blessings. PTI SUN VSD RC