PANJIM: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Monday appealed to young people to take responsibilities in the Congress organisation and to fight until their goal is achieved.
Speaking at the induction of new Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar, Chidambaram said, “Congress is handing over the responsibility to the younger generation. Sixty percent of the Indian population is under the age of 40 years. India will remain a young country for a decade to come. We need to entrust responsibility to the younger generation.”
Stating that young people are coming for leadership across the world, he said, “We need to be firm and now the younger generation should take responsibility and should fight until their goal is achieved.”
Referring to the 2022 Assembly election results, Chidambaram lamented that though 67 per cent people of Goa voted against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but as the votes went in different directions the saffron party could win power. BJP will not give anything new, but will repeat the last 10 years,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Michael Lobo said that the Congress will continue to be the voice of the people of Goa and that that revival of the party along with raising peoples issues will regain the trust to achieve goals.
Lobo said that people of Goa wanted change as they wanted a government who can listen to them. But due to a split of votes this could not happen. People came to know about their ‘decision’ after the results, he added.
Lobo said that those who left Congress and joined ‘new dawn’ will have to be brought back to the party fold and make the Congress strong. “We need to focus on making our block Congress committees strong and revive our acts. We will have to face challenges in the near future and we have to prove ourselves during the ensuing village panchayat and Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Urging the party workers to start a new beginning, he said, “People now have come to know that if voted in different directions then BJP comes to power. This should not happen again.”
Patkar said that the mantra of the party should be to reach people. “We will need to visit people again and regain their trust. Let us build the party from the grass root level. We will have a vibrant opposition party in Goa for a vibrant State,” he said.
Outgoing GPCC president Girish Chodankar said that nobody should get demoralised as people trust Congress. “We will raise the issue of people and will fight for the good cause.” Margao MLA Digambar Kamat said that ‘generation next’ is future of Congress. “Karykartas (party workers) are backbone of Congress. Though we are not in power for last 10 years, our karykartas remained firm and worked with unity,” he said.
AICC Goa icnharge Dinesh Gundu Rao said that a new beginning is taking place. “We have gone through difficult times, but have not lost our spirit. Today we are stronger than before. Now people are realising that only the Congress party can defeat BJP. We will be a vibrant opposition in the State,” he said.
