Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Congress has drawn a clear line against leaders who have previously quit the party, with AICC Goa in-charge Manikrao Thakre saying there will be no scope for their return.
Thakre said some former party members are making attempts to rejoin Congress, but the party has decided against accepting them.
“We will not give any place to those who have defected from Congress. They are trying to come back to us, but we will not accept them, either now or in the future. This is their punishment from us,” he said.
Thakre also commented on the recent issue surrounding an invitation sent to Goa Congress president Amit Patkar for a party meeting.
He indicated that Patkar may have expected a more direct form of communication.
“There may be certain expectations that someone should personally call or send a message before attending a meeting. Perhaps he felt that the message sent to him was not of his level and may have taken it personally. But I don’t think this is a very serious issue,” Thakre said.
Meanwhile, the party has identified Sankhalim and Valpoi as areas requiring increased organisational attention.
Thakre said senior Congress leaders, district-level teams and the Mahila Congress have been conducting programmes and reaching out to voters in both constituencies.
Speaking about Sankhalim, Thakre pointed to the narrow margin by which the Chief Minister won the constituency in the previous election.
He said Congress is working to strengthen its presence there and is taking organisational measures aimed at securing a victory for its candidate this time.
