PANJIM: Former Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Monday said that he quit the Congress in the interest of people of Goa and to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Addressing his first press conference after joining the Goa Trinamool Congress (TMC) last week, Lourenco said that the aspirations of his people are his priority and only time will tell whether the decision to join the TMC was taken in their interest.
“I quit the Congress because they don’t have the intention or the determination to oust the BJP. The Congress never pays attention to anything that matters to the common man. Every time we took up issues in the Assembly, nothing happened. I was unable to work in Congress. I was a working president of Congress but only on paper.”
Reginaldo claimed that the TMC is the party that has fire in the belly and intent to oust the BJP. “I want to tell my people that there will be no compromise on any issue nor any interest where the State is involved. I am a son of the soil and I can vouch that this is a good decision that I took for my people. My own people are asking me when I will be in the ruling and at the helm of affairs.”
Lourenco alleged that smear campaign has been launched against him and too many tricks are being played to malign his image. They (Congress) want to bring me down because I called out their incompetence, he said.
Former MLA Kiran Kandolkar said that the Congress was not serious in defeating the BJP and claimed that the MGP-TMC alliance will win the ensuing elections.
Former Margao vice chairperson Ethel Lobo said Lourenco was the only tall leader raising all sorts of questions. “This was not an easy task but he did it for people of Goa. We stand by Reginaldo Lourenco and give him all the support that he needs to serve the people of Goa,” she said.
