Congress drive targets BJP, corruption

Panaji: Congress on Saturday launched a ‘Haath se Haath Jodo’ campaign from Mandrem with a message that the party would fight the ‘corrupt BJP government.’
Terming BJP as “Bhrashtra Jumla Party,” state Congress president Amit Patkar said that people who were opposed to BJP were divided by it in the last assembly elections by bringing in various parties.
“We need to fight the government unitedly and make it answerable on boiling issues such as unemployment, rising inflation and fuel prices, diversion of Mhadei river water,” Patkar said.
When cooking gas prices went up during the Congress rule, BJP’s then mahila morch led by Smriti Irani – now a Union minister – protested. “Smriti Irani would stage a protest with a gas cylinder then. Today, when the cost of cooking gas has gone up to Rs 1,030, BJP women activists are missing in action,” said Patkar.
Never did his party, Patkar said, had taken money from youth for jobs. But the present government has put the jobs on sale. “I’m told that they even charge Rs 25 lakh for a government job,” Patkar said.
The government, he said, claims not to have money to pay beneficiaries of the social security schemes in time, but has funds to splurge on events and event management agencies.
Among those present were South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha, opposition leader Yuri Alemao, advocate Ramakant Khalap and MLAs Carlos Ferreira and Altone D’Costa.