YOUNG VS OLD
WHAT THEY SAY ...
* Appointment on PEC or coordination committee isn’t a confirmation of ticket
- Pandurang Madkaikar
* They have resorted to Plan B which is to damage Congress\\\' standing in Goa
- Girish Chodankar
* Grassroot level work will decide whether or not they have a standing to get tickets
- Pratapsing Rane
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Shun those rejected
in 2012: Fr Rebello
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PANAJI:
Stating that an appointment on the Pradesh Election Committee or the Pradesh Coordination Committee is not a confirmation of getting Congress ticket for the upcoming polls to the Goa Legislative Assembly, Madkaikar said that the young rebel Congressmen should actually get down to working at the grassroots instead of outraging before the media.
Speaking to The Goan about the deepening schism between the old guard and young Congressmen in the party, Madkaikar said, “I want these young Congressmen to understand that appointment on PEC or coordination committee isn’t a confirmation of ticket. For that, they will have to do real ground work at grassroots.”
He said that the party has always and continues to work on encouraging youth within the party.
“We are very serious about inclusion of more youth even in the nominations for Congress tickets. We want dedicated youngsters,” Madkaikar said.
Lashing out at the group of Congressmen who have been vocal over the last few weeks demanding dissolution of the PEC and coordination committee and inclusion of more youth, the Cumbarjua MLA said, “If these were really loyal Congressmen, they would have trusted the party’s system and would have approached the correct authority with their grievances and anxieties.”
Denying that rejection of certain leaders on electoral field should constitute ground for shunning leaders from the party organization, Madkaikar said, “We need their guidance and we need to send out the correct message that Congress doesn’t cut ties because of electoral losses.”
Reading the trend as an attempt by minor political elements to deface Congress’ image in the State, All India Congress Committee secretary and Congress observer for Fatorda Girish Chodankar said, “Because they could take their agenda forward, certain forward elements, while projecting themselves to be inclusive and secular, have resorted to Plan B which is to damage Congress\\\' standing within Goa. This ongoing upheaval is a mere tactic employed by the sympathizers of that particular element.”
Pratapsing Rane, while stating that youth is sufficiently represented in GPCC, opined that if this outrage is solely based on the demand for tickets, instead of going to the media, these young Congressmen should go to te people for ground support.
“It is finally the people who will decide who represents their constituency. Their grassroot level work will decide whether or not they have a standing to get tickets,” Rane said.
AICC had announced the formation of its Goa election committee headed by GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro earlier this month.
The 17-member committee includes former chief ministers Pratapsing Rane, Digambar Kamat, Ravi Naik and Francisco Sardinha, Rajya sabha MP Shantaram Naik and sitting MLAs Pandurang Madkaikar (Cumbharjua), Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar (Quepem), Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco (Curtorim) and Vishwajeet Rane (Valpoi).
The 22-member state coordination committee headed by the general secretary in-charge of Goa desk Digvijay Singh and Faleiro as the convenor, includes secretary, AICC and former youth wing president Girish Chodankar, former PCC president Subhash Shirodkar, former Union minister Ramakant Khalap, former minister Manohar (Babu) Azgaonkar, Pramod Salgaocar, M K Shaikh, Moti Desai and presidents of students wing NSUI, youth Congress, Mahila Congress and Seva Dal as members.
