Addressing a 50,000-strong gathering here on Saturday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke at length about how her party was sensitive towards Goa’s environment — something which the local Congress has been repeatedly criticised about, given the illegal mining scam.
Answering local MLA Mr Mickky Pacheco’s allegations that she was not to be trusted as she had gone back on her word of ensuring that Goa would get special status, Mrs Gandhi reiterated that the demand for special status would be put before the Centre.
Before addressing the rally at 5 pm, Mrs Gandhi laid the foundation stone for the “Vijay Smarak” at Fort Aguada. She also attended a cultural programme in the capital Panaji to honour those who contributed towards Goa’s liberation. December 19 will mark 50 years of Goa’s liberation from the Portuguese.
Talking about the contentious Goa Regional Plan 2011, which a wide section of the society has rejected stating that it was full of errors, Mrs Gandhi said that the onus lay upon chief minister Digambar Kamat to rectify the errors.
The BJP ensured that the 100-odd bus owners, whose vehicles had been used to ferry Congress supporters from all over the state, complained that they had been pressganged and forced to carry the supporters without charge.