MAPUSA
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) membership campaign observer for Goa, Prakash Rathod, on Saturday exonerated the Congress party from any wrongdoing but blamed the elected representatives for ditching the people of Goa.
The AICC observer also said the people of Goa required a strong secular party to lead them and promised to rebuild the party in the State and not commit the mistakes made earlier.“It is not the mistake of the Congress party. It is the MLAs who left us for the lure of money and power. It is the mistake of the BJP that has lured our MLAs with huge money. They have been threatened and given political power. They have formed an illegal and illegitimate government in Goa, which has been running for nearly four years now,” Rathod said.
“I know the people of Goa are disappointed with Congress because some of the MLAs left us. But you have to blame the MLAs for that and not the Congress,” he added.
The AICC observer was addressing a news conference after launching the digital membership drive at the North Goa District Congress office in Mapusa. The Chairman of Coordination Committee Ramakant Khalap, former minister Aleixo Sequeira and Agnelo Fernandes, GPCC Vice President M K Shaikh, General Secretary Amarnath Panjikar, North Goa District Congress Committee President Vijay Bhike and various block presidents and other party functionaries were also present.
Continuing, Rathod said the matured people of Goa had given a verdict and elected 17 MLAs on the Congress symbol but the central and local leadership of BJP used devious means to buy the Congress MLAs. “It is an insult to democracy. No party which believes in democratic system will indulge in such a heinous crime. They have done it in Goa, Karnataka, MP and Assam. They are threatening people by using the CBI, IB and all the other organisations to lure the elected representatives,” he said.
“This will not happen for a long time. The people of this country will give the BJP a fitting reply,” he added.
Rathod admitted that Congress was indeed going through difficult times and that is why the digital membership campaign was launched so that the party can visit every house and convince every voter.
“The Congress is going to expose the dual role of BJP in trying to neglect the constitutional institutions. We are going to go house to house not only to take up the membership in a big way but also to take up the deficiency/failure of the BJP government both in the State and at the Centre,” the AICC observer said.
He said the Congress has to get its flock together and forget the differences among the party men.
“Right from a booth level worker to the senior most leaders should work to develop the party and see that mistakes that have happened earlier are not repeated,” he said.
