Congress's South Goa candidate Viriato Fernandes has claimed the Indian Constitution was "forced" on Goa after its liberation from the Portuguese rule in 1961. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant called the comments appalling and said the Congress is a threat to democracy. Addressing an election meeting on Monday, Mr Fernandes recalled that then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said Goa, which became a state in 1987, will decide its own destiny, but added "this did not happen".