PANAJI
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president, Amit Patkar on Wednesday claimed that intelligence reports gathered by the BJP government in Goa has rattled the ruling party as it shows that the Congress is winning the South Goa seat and has a 50-50 chance in North Goa.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in the city, Patkar alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nothing to show in terms of their governments' achievements both at the Centre and here in Goa and were therefore only raising questions about 60-year rule of the Congress.
Patkar who was flanked by Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao, South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha and the party's coordinators for both the parliamentary constituencies -- Carlos Alvares Ferreirra and Altone D'Costa -- dismissed questions on the delay in announcing candidates, saying the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) will announce both the names soon.
"You should ask such questions to the BJP. They have been blowing the trumpet that they will win the South Goa seat by a 60,000 vote margin for the last five years. They cannot even find a candidate as yet," Patkar shot back over questions by the media over the delay in finalising candidates.
Meanwhile, Patkar said the party has kicked off its campaign work from Wednesday saying Alvares-Ferreira has already held meetings with all the block committees of North Goa and the campaign design is ready.
In South too the campaign is kicking off today (Wednesday), Patkar said, adding that D'Costa who is in-charge of the campaign there has lined up meetings with block committees and workers
Alemao said, the Congress during its regimes at the Centre was responsible for bringing in various legislations to empower women, adding that India's first woman president was nominated by it.
He also said, that reservations for women in local bodies elections was also the making of the Congress and accused the BJP of only paying lip service to 'Nari Shakti'.
"If Pramod Sawant is really serious about 'Nari Shakti' then why is he not inducting a woman in his cabinet? They have three women MLAs. He can do it just now," Alemao said.
