Panaji: In what Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar touted to be “a movement to reclaim Goa’s future with a resolve to take the BJP head-on”, a public meeting of the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge scheduled for May 30 to mark Goa Statehood Day has been suddenly cancelled.
GPCC Senior Vice President M K Sheikh told PTI that the meeting has been cancelled due to heavy rains predicted by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on May 30.
“We wanted to host a huge meeting of our President Mallikarjun Kharge but due to rains we won’t be able to hold it. We will hold the meeting now, after the monsoon,” he said.
Goa has been receiving torrential rains for last four days with the onset of monsoon in the coastal state.
The meeting that was supposed to be graced by Kharge’s maiden visit to the state after assuming the charge of the AICC President in October 2022 has been much publicised by the GPCC President and CLP Leader and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao who had personally both met Kharge in Bangalore on May 22 and had publicised the meet with photos of the duo handing over an written invite to the AICC President to attend the meeting which the GPCC President had described as a “ meaningful and strategic meeting with the Hon INC President”.
Preparations for the event on Friday had already begun with Goa Desk-in-Charge Manikrao Thakre overseeing preparations by being personally present in the state.
Thakre suddenly left Goa on wednesday morning for Bangalore perhaps to personally convey the cancellation of the meeting.
Although calls to GPCC President Amit Patkar went unanswered, sources confirmed that the party’s lack of confidence to mobilise a significant crowd was the deciding factor for the abrupt cancellation.
A meeting of office bearers recently did not evoke much response to take up crowd mobilisation as Patkar reportedly failed to inspire the team to act.
GPCC Vice President Sunil Kawthankar confirmed the news of cancellation of Friday’s meeting and elaborated that the same was conveyed to him by the GPCC President Amit Patkar.
The Congress in Goa has been battling a leadership vaccum after the exodus of eight of the eleven MLAs to the BJP in September 2022.
This was the Second Congress Split in three years with a mass exit of MLAs with three first timers remaining in the party fold. The important positions of the GPCC President and Leader of Opposition are being held by new comers.
The Central leadership of the party has also not given much importance regarding the reorganisation of the state unit which is evident from the fact that the INC President hasn’t even visited the state since October 2022, when he assumed charge.
The Victory of the Party in South Goa Lok Sabha Polls is seen majorly as a win for INDIA alliance backed by AAP, Goa Forward Party and civil society activists with no major national Congress leader even venturing into the campaign.
The state unit is also known for making grand announcements and then abandoning them midway as seen by various examples available in the public realm. The Mhadei Jagor, an agitation to create awareness and oppose the diversion of water from the Mhadei river basin was announced with much fanfare on 15th Jan 2023 to be abandoned mid-way.
The membership drive also commenced on Gandhi Jayant in 2024 was also abandoned as have other party programmes like Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Feb 08, 2022) and Haath Se Haath Jodo (Jan 27, 2023).
Even the protests infront of houses of the eight defector MLAs began only infront of Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira’s residence but abandoned later inspite of huge public anger against the defectors who left the Party even after swearing not to do so in religious oath taken in prominent temple, holy cross and dargah before 2022 polls.
