‘Rajiv Gandhi gave Goa statehood’: Congress reacts to Amit Shah’s poll speech - Hindustan Times
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‘Rajiv Gandhi gave Goa statehood’: Congress reacts to Amit Shah’s ‘Gandhi parivar ka Goa’ poll speech

Written by Srivatsan K C | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Jan 30, 2022 09:45 PM IST

“Amit Shah doesn't know the contribution of Congress and Gandhi's family to Goa. It was Indira Gandhi who decided that Goa needs a referendum, an opinion poll on whether to choose to be with Maharashtra or not. Rajiv Gandhi gave Goa statehood,” Congress' Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said. 

The Congress party reacted to Union home minister Amit Shah’s poll speech in Goa on Sunday evening during which he criticised the party and said that the BJP leader was not aware of their contributions to the coastal state.

Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Amit Shah doesn't know about the contributions of the Congress to Goa state.(HT File Photo)
Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Amit Shah doesn't know about the contributions of the Congress to Goa state.(HT File Photo)

During a public rally in Sanvordem assembly constituency in the state, Shah listed some of the infrastructure and other development projects which the BJP government has commenced and asked what had the Congress done when they were in power.

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“Goa needs a people-first govt, that can only be provided by the BJP. The Congress party can give you a government but it will be family-first. Goa will only remain a tourism destination for the family if Congress comes to power,” he said.

Also read | Rahul Gandhi suffering from Modi-phobia: Amit Shah in Goa

He further accused the Gandhi family of considering the state as a “tourism spot” for vacation. “Congress's Gandhi family has a habit of going on holidays, so they want a tourism spot for vacation. They come here often. For BJP, Goa means 'golden Goa', but for Congress it is 'Gandhi parivar ka Goa'. Do you want (BJP's) golden Goa or Gandhi parivar ka Goa?,” he asked.

Reacting to these remarks, Congress’ Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Shah was unaware of the party’s contributions to the state.

“Amit Shah doesn't know the contribution of Congress and Gandhi's family to Goa. It was Indira Gandhi who decided that Goa needs a referendum, an opinion poll on whether to choose to be with Maharashtra or not. Rajiv Gandhi gave Goa statehood,” news agency ANI quoted Gundu Rao as saying.

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Further, he also said that the current BJP unit consisted of several people who had previously defected from his party. “Today's BJP (Goa unit) is an old Congress consisting of all those people who had defected (from) us. Corrupt people are with BJP,” he said.

“If he listens to Goa Ex-Governor Satya Pal Malik then he will know how much corruption is there in their govt.People of Goa are fed up with BJP,” he further said, referring to former Goa governor Satya Pal Malik, who has been openly critical of the ruling BJP, the party to which he belongs, at the Centre in the recent past.

While Shah was on a day-long tour in Goa on Sunday, the Congress is scheduled to hold rallies by Rahul Gandhi in the poll-bound state on February 2, the party’s state unit chief Girish Chodankar told news agency PTI. Gandhi will address a public gathering in Sanquelim, where chief minister Pramod Sawant is contesting the polls this time.

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