Panaji, Goa – The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) today staged protests across the state to mark the 2nd anniversary of the defection of 10 Congress MLAs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The protests, held in various parts of the state, saw Congress workers and leaders raise slogans against the defected MLAs and the BJP government. GPCC president, Amit Patkar, led the protests, accusing the BJP of “buying” the Congress MLAs and undermining democracy.
“The defection was a betrayal of the people’s mandate,” Patkar said. “We will continue to fight against this undemocratic act and expose the BJP’s attempts to weaken the opposition.”
The protests also saw participation from local residents, who expressed their disappointment with the defected MLAs. “We voted for Congress, but they joined the BJP for personal gain,” said a local resident. “This is a betrayal of our trust.”
The BJP government has dismissed the protests as a “desperate attempt” by the Congress to regain relevance. “The people of Goa have moved on,” said a BJP spokesperson. “The Congress is stuck in the past.”
The defection, which occurred in 2019, had reduced the Congress to a minority in the state assembly, allowing the BJP to form a stable government. The GPCC has been seeking to rebuild its base and regain lost ground since then.
