Cong kicks off mission to reach out to minorities
TEAM HERALD
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MARGAO: In a apparent bid to woo the minorities on its side, the Congress has kicked off its mission in order to reach out to the minorities in the state, especially the Muslim community.
This is the perhaps the first exercise by the party after the Congress faced a rout in last year’s Assembly polls. It is believed that the Congress faced the electoral setback after the party’s core vote bank – the minorities went away from the party.
While the first interaction was held in Margao on Sunday, a similar exercise will be held in North Goa next week.
Party leaders including Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Subhash Shirodkar, South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha and ex-Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat had an interaction with representatives of the minority community, including representatives of the Masjids from across South Goa at the party district office here on Sunday.
The GPCC chief dismissed all talk of the wooing the minority community with an eye on the coming Lok Sabha polls, saying that even Rajiv Gandhi has clarified that the ongoing party program have no connection with next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Shirodkar further clarified that the minority cell of the congress party is not restricted only to the Muslim community, but the Christian community as well. “There may be some lapses in the past, but both Muslims and Christians form part of the minorities”, he added.
“After today’s meeting, we have come across several problems facing the Muslim community, especially with regards to Madrassas. Some of them have no premises”, he said, adding that the party will take up the issue with the state government or through the MPLAD scheme.
He said the Congress members have been told to gear up to take various central government schemes intended for the minorities, OBCs and the ST communities.
