“Since the BJP took over the reins, the country has been witnessing increasing assaults on the secular tenets of our constitutional democracy through the propagation of divisive ideas,” said Luizinho Faleiro, president of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC). He added that Bihar had set a good example by rejecting ‘communal politics’.
Faleiro further stated that Goa, a secular and peaceful State, cannot sit idly while developments like the Dadri lynching and beef ban are taking place across the country. He criticised the BJP for indulging in a culture of “polarisation, intolerance, vendetta and vengeance” and claimed that even President Pranab Mukherjee had spoken on the issue of intolerance four times.
He called on the public to converge at the historic Lohia Maidan on November 14, which is the 125th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat added that he expects people of all ages to converge at the ground. He claimed that many people, especially the youth, were already seeking membership of the party.
Faleiro expressed a need to bring in new faces to govern the State and praised the first-timers from zilla panchayats and municipalities. Responding to a query on whether new faces are being lured with the promise of a ticket, Faleiro refuted the claim and said that one has to earn the ticket by proving that they are willing to take the party forward.
Faleiro congratulated the municipal panel backed by Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavalekar as well as the youth leaders from the taluka. He called on the Quepem Congress block to continue to raise the party’s profile in the constituency.
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavalekar, former minister Babu Azgaonkar, Quepem Municipal Council chairperson Filu D’Costa were also present.
