Margao: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that the party’s Goa leadership will take the initial decision on alliances for the 2027 assembly elections, which will then be sent to the party high command for final approval.
Kharge, who held a meeting with the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC), said he has received an assurance from the state leaders that they will fight the upcoming assembly polls unitedly.
Several issues, including the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill and anti-defection, were discussed during the meeting. Kharge also interacted with the party’s frontal organisations and activists.
A day after the BJP accused him of singing an “incomplete” version of ‘Vande Mataram’, Kharge said on Tuesday that he sang the same version followed by past national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Talking to reporters, Kharge said that if singing that version was a crime, cases should also be filed against the leaders who had sung it the same way.
Meanwhile, members of the Youth Congress condemned an incident that occurred outside the Dabolim airport on Monday. “If we had done the same thing, we would have had an FIR against us,” they said, accusing the police of bias.
They further alleged that the government denied permission for meetings with the national president at several venues. Pledging support for ST reservation demands, the Youth Congress questioned why BJP youth leaders were not raising black flags over unemployment and education issues, adding that the people of Goa would show the BJP the black flag at the elections.
Social activist Swapnesh Sheldekar, who also interacted with Kharge, urged measures to prevent defection at the coming elections.
