MARGAO
Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on Tuesday said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s call for unity among party leaders vindicated concerns that the Congress could witness a “hat-trick of defections” in Goa ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
“By calling for unity among Congress leaders, the Congress president has only confirmed what many people in Goa have been saying — that the Congress will do a hat-trick of defections in 2027 because there is no unity among its leaders,” Sardesai said.
He said Congress should first put its house in order to prevent defections before seeking a mandate from people to save Goa.
Referring to Kharge’s address, Sardesai noted that 10 of the 12 Cabinet ministers in the BJP-led government were former Congressmen. He said the wholesale defections in 2019 and 2022 had fuelled fears that the Congress could split again in 2027.
Sardesai also accused the government of neglecting contract teachers and multi-tasking staff (MTS) workers awaiting regularisation.
He said teachers had been waiting for justice despite Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s assurances that their services would be regularised.
“If teachers do not get justice, how can society expect them to lay a good foundation for children, who are the future pillars of society?” he asked.
He said 305 MTS workers in the Health Department, who served in government hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, were still awaiting regularisation.
