Panaji: The ruling BJP observed a minute long silence before its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi`s address here on Sunday, to express condolence to the victims of Canacona building collapse incident which occurred last week.
Silence was observed before the local BJP leaders began their speeches at the rally in Merces, three kms away from the capital city.
Around 27 people were killed in the building collapse incident and the rescue work is still underway at the site.
Before Modi arrived at the rally, BJP Goa unit General Secretary Damodar Naik appealed to the one lakh odd crowd to pay tribute to the mishap victims.
"It`s the most unfortunate tragedy. It is a heart-breaking incident," Naik said. He added that even Modi had inquired about the incident and expressed grief over it.
Meanwhile, thousands of people arrived to attend rally that threw the traffic situation out of gear in the Goa capital.
The bypass connecting Panaji to old Goa, a heritage village ten kilometres away from the capital, was jammed since afternoon. The situation was similar on the highway between Panaji and Margao. Traffic congestion was witnessed at Bambolim village.
"We had decided Merces as a venue, because we didn`t want traffic mess in Panaji," a senior party official said today. Over 1,000 buses were requisitioned to bring in crowd for the rally.
The party officials said that more than one lakh people arrived to attend the rally.
BJP had collected Rs five from each to participate in the rally.
