Pacheco targets Congress, hits out at Ponda bypoll strategy

Mickky Pacheco speaks about plans to build an alternative to BJP and Congress ahead of 2027 polls. Santosh Mirajkar

MARGAO
Saying that the people of Goa are fed up with the politics of the BJP and Congress, former Tourism Minister Francisco Xavier Mickky Pacheco on Wednesday said that he is working with like-minded people to offer an alternative to the two national parties in the 2027 Assembly election.
Referring to the upcoming by-election in the Ponda constituency following the demise of the late Agriculture Minister and MLA Ravi Naik, Pacheco said it is natural for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to field its candidate. He, however, expressed serious concern over the functioning of the Congress, which claims to be the principal opposition party in Goa.
He said that after the political betrayals witnessed in 2017 and again in 2022, when several Congress MLAs deserted the party and joined the ruling side, the party leadership should have undertaken serious introspection and rebuilt the organisation by strengthening loyal grassroots workers. Instead, he said, the party appears to be repeating the same mistakes that contributed to its erosion in the State.
Pointing out the 2022 Assembly election, he said Ketan Bhatikar, who contested on the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ticket, and Congress candidate Rajesh Verenkar had lost the election by narrow margins. “Bhatikar has now been inducted into the Congress party and declared as its candidate for the Ponda by-election,” he said.
Calling this a clear contradiction, Pacheco said that while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi frequently criticises the BJP government by alleging that it is influenced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the same Congress party is now promoting a candidate who had earlier contested the 2017 election under the Goa Suraksha Manch led by Subhash Velingkar, a political platform widely perceived to be ideologically aligned with the RSS. “Such contradictions expose the lack of ideological clarity within the Congress party and ultimately erode public trust,” he said.
Pacheco also expressed concern over the conduct of certain opposition MLAs in the Goa Legislative Assembly. Referring to recent statements made by RGP MLA Viresh Borkar, Pacheco said that if the government is not allowing adequate discussion on important matters such as Appropriation Bills, it is the responsibility of the opposition to challenge the government strongly within the Assembly itself.
Pacheco further expressed concern over the growing trend of opposition leaders publicly attacking one another. Referring to remarks directed at Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai, he said that when opposition leaders accuse each other of being "hand in glove" with the ruling party or label one another as "Judas", it weakens the opposition and confuses voters.
"When opposition leaders spend more time attacking each other than questioning the government, the only beneficiary is the ruling party," he said.