MAPUSA
On the eve of Diwali, hours before Goa could consign the life-sized ‘narkasurs’ (demon king) to flame, the Congress set ‘mhargaisur’ (demon of price rise) on fire in protest against the failure of the BJP-led government to check the rising prices of fuels and other essential commodities.
Accompanied by the effigy of ‘mhargaisur’ on a bullock cart, senior Congress leaders and party workers, carrying placards and shouting slogans, marched through the Mapusa town.
GPCC President Girish Chodankar said for the last 10 years the BJP has created various narkasurs and one of them was price rise, which has impacted every section of the society.
He said people will keep on slaying the demons and will celebrate real Diwali on the counting day of the Goa elections.
“First, people died due to Covid mismanagement and now, they want to eliminate the remaining people through price rise. Goans will continue burning demons in various forms and finally, Diwali will be celebrated on the counting day,” Chodankar said.
The Congress chief said after the BJP came to power, the cooking gas cylinder price has risen from Rs 414 to Rs 913, petrol price from Rs 60 to Rs 107 per litre and diesel rate from Rs 55 to Rs 106.
He said onion prices have shot up from Rs 23 to Rs 50 a kg, tomatoes from Rs 20 to Rs 45 a kilo and oil price has gone up by over 200 per cent and sugar by 100 per cent.
Congress created a buzz by holding the protest in Bardez which is considered the stronghold of BJP.
Hundreds of Congress workers participated in the anti-price rise protest which started from Khorlim and wound through the main streets and culminated near the Bodgeshwar temple where the effigy of ‘mhargaisur’ was consigned to flames.
According to the Leader of Opposition, people have suffered enough and time has come to teach a lesson to the most insensitive BJP government.
Referring to the by-election results where Congress made a clean sweep in Haryana and won seats in Karnataka and Rajasthan, he said BJP’s “reverse slide” has started.
Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco appealed to the people to ensure that the people-friendly Congress party was elected to power.
Former union minister Ramakant Khalap, former MLA Agnelo Fernandes, North Goa District President Vijay Bhike, Youth Congress President Varad Mardolkar, Mahila President Beena Naik, Congress Vice President Babi Bagkar, media department chairman Amarnath Panjikar, ex-minister Sangeeta Parab, Rudolf Fernandes, Dharma Chodankar, Joe Dias and others also condemned the misrule of the BJP-led government.
