Team Goemkarponn
PONDA: Goa can emerge as an important centre of political change in the February 2027 Assembly elections, AICC Media and Communication Chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera said on Monday as the Congress-led Goy Rakhonn Yatra entered Ponda on its 14th day.
The Ponda leg of the yatra was dedicated to the memory of late Dr. Ketan Bhatikar. Congress leaders paid floral tribute to his portrait before commencing the programme.
Addressing the gathering, Khera accused the BJP of targeting young voters and raised concerns over what he described as “vote theft”. He said the protection of Goa’s land, businesses, forests, rivers, environment, culture and identity would be among the key issues in the 2027 Assembly elections.
Khera said Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against alleged electoral irregularities had resonated with citizens and claimed that the BJP was attempting to weaken the democratic voice of the people.
“Goa can become an important centre of political change in the February 2027 Assembly elections,” Khera said, calling upon Goans to make the protection of the state’s identity and natural resources a central electoral issue.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said the BJP government was facing growing public anger and described it as a “tsunami”. He accused the government of allowing rampant land conversion and said provisions including Sections 16B and 17(2) were adversely affecting Goa’s land and communities.
Alemao also raised unemployment as a major concern and criticised the government over healthcare infrastructure in Ponda. He said a Congress government would develop hospital facilities in the name of late Dr. Ketan Bhatikar, including MRI and CT scan services.
“We will provide the required hospital infrastructure within the first two months of the Congress government,” Alemao said.
Congress Working President Altone D’Costa alleged that the BJP had “finished” the legacies of former Goa Chief Ministers Manohar Parrikar and Ravi Naik. Referring to Ponda, D’Costa said the constituency had witnessed development during Ravi Naik’s tenure and questioned the BJP government’s record of development in the constituency.
Working President Adv. Carlos Alvares Ferreira criticised the BJP over issues concerning roads, water supply and electricity. He alleged that Goa’s land, agricultural fields and hills were increasingly coming under pressure from interests allegedly linked to the ruling establishment.
Ponda District Congress President Rajesh Verenkar targeted the BJP over Smart City-related promises in Ponda, alleging that several projects had not commenced despite tenders being issued and work orders granted. He also raised concerns over increasing electricity bills and the financial burden on consumers.
Congress leaders and workers, including AICC Goa in-charge Dr. Anjali Nimbalkar, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, Working Presidents Altone D’Costa, Carlos Alvares Ferreira, M. K. Shaikh and Sunil Kawthankar, along with other party functionaries, participated in the yatra.
During the programme, Congress workers wore bandaged, blood-stained finger props as a symbolic representation of what the party described as votes being “cut”, highlighting its allegations of electoral irregularities.
The programme concluded with Sunil Kawthankar administering the Goy Rakhonn Pledge, calling upon people to protect Goa’s land, culture, language, identity, heritage and natural resources.
The gathering concluded with the slogans, “Ami Goem Vikpak Divchem Na!” and “Ami BJP-k Jinkpak Divchem Na!”, reflecting the Congress campaign’s call to protect Goa and defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections.
