Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Newly-appointed President of Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress (GPMC) Dr. Pratiksha Khalap said that she will work towards justice for women in the state.
She was speaking after taking oath as the new GPMC president.
Present at the ceremony were All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba, Goa in-charge Manikrao Thakare, outgoing Goa Mahila Congress president Beena Naik, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Amit Patkar, former GPCC president Girish Chodankar, party members and dignitaries.
Dr. Khalap said that her vision will be to fight for women’s justice which will be the bedrock of her responsibility.
“We need to work for women’s employment, education, and development. All women get an equal opportunity. We need to tackle the hurdles that come in the way of women’s progress. We need to create a society where every woman gets an opportunity for education and to realise their dreams. Women’s safety is essential, if women’s voices are stifled, I will be their voice,” she said.
In her address, Lamba said that in the past five months, the Mahila Congress has enrolled 5 lakh women as part of the membership drive, and also enrolled nearly 7000 women in Goa.
“We have 70 crore women across the country, but their voices are not heard. In the past 11 months, Goa has seen 7 murders of women. 50 plus women were raped, more than 50 were molested, they are seeking justice. The 33% reservation for women is not implemented. It is our right. This is injustice, our struggle has not ended. We are going to have a 2-day leadership training camp in May in the state for the 7000 new women who have joined Mahila Congress in Goa,” she said.
Patkar urged everyone to work for the Congress party for the 2027 assembly elections.
“The BJP government in the past 13 years has meted out injustice. Rapes are rising, crimes against women are increasing, there is delay in disbursing money under social welfare schemes for women. The BJP government is trying to divert attention from the core issues of inflation, unemployment, and corruption,” he said.
Thakare also called for unitedly working towards the 2027 Goa assembly elections.
“There are a lot of issues affecting women in Goa. We need to ready our women to agitate against these issues. We need to keep the women cadre active. We need to get in election mode. We need to work unitedly with discipline. People are with Congress. We have 2 years for the polls and we need to work strongly towards this,” he said.
Chodankar expressed confidence that Dr. Khalap as new Goa Mahila Congress president will give justice to all women and will take everyone along with us as she builds the party.
