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RAGING RANE
* The senior Congress leader said people who are leaving Cong are trying to portray a picture that the ship is sinking
* They are not rats who are jumping off sinking ship but oppn MLAs afraid of being exposed by ruling party, he said
* When someone is afraid that things will get exposed, they need but one excuse, said the senior congressman
* What have they (two MLAs) given to the party when they were with the Congress? he questioned
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Rahul's his first
public meet in
Goa on Dec 16
All India Congress Committee vice president Rahul Gandhi will address his first public meeting in Goa on December 16 at 3.30 pm at Fatorda Ground. He will participate in the last leg of the Jan Jagruti Yatra of Goa Congress which will culminate at Fatorda.
Rahul will speak in the backdrop of the massive mass contact programme of the party which began on November 29 at Patradevi. The meeting is expected to draw huge crowds with the party focussing on attracting the youth.
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Stating that certain MLAs are leaving Congress for fear of being exposed by the ruling party, Leader of Opposition Pratapsing Rane on Wednesday returned fire in an unprecedented sharp bout of criticism against Cumbharjua Congress MLA Pandurang Madkaikar and Dabolim Congress MLA Mauvin Godinho, both of whom have come clean on their intention to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking at Congress House, Rane declared, "People who are leaving are trying to portray a picture that the ship is sinking. But they are not rats who are jumping off a sinking ship. These are opposition MLAs who are afraid of being exposed by the ruling party. When someone is afraid that things will get exposed, they need but one excuse."
Reacting to Madkaikar's recent allegation that Congress has failed to make any progress, Rane stated that instead of pointing fingers at the party, the Cumbharjua MLA should introspect. "What have they given to the party when they were with the Congress?" the senior Congressman questioned adding that, there is no solution without Congress.
GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro took the argument up a notch and asserted that all real development of Goa has been achieved only under Congress government.
Meanwhile, in a visible attempt to tighten the party's grip on Cumbharjua and Dabolim constituencies, GPCC leaders met the members of the reconstituted Cumbharjua Block Congress and Dabolim Blocks at Congress House. "The Blocks have submitted representation before GPCC expressing confidence about fielding new faces in these two constituencies.
Cumbharjua Block convened an emergency meeting to pass a resolution to this effect. The two blocks have identified new faces and are also in the process of beginning door-to-door campaign," Faleiro announced. GPCC president predicted that a new movement is beginning in these constituencies and new leader will arise.It may be recalled that on Monday, citing inactivity of the Cumbarjua Block Congress Committee and its lack of enthusiasm vis a vis the ongoing Jan Jagruti Yatra, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee had dissolved of the entire block committee and had replaced it with a reconstituted committee comprising 12 convenors and 103 members.
The former Cumbharjua Block Congress had a few weeks ago pledged unwavering allegiance to the sitting Congress MLA Pandurang Madkaikar, who has recently disclosed his willingness to join the ruling alliance.
