Panaji: Congress general secretary Rahul
Gandhi is likely to address a special session of Goa
Legislative Assembly on the midnight of December 19, when the
coastal state would complete 50 years of its liberation.
Goa desk in-charge of Congress Jagmeet Singh Brar said
the state government would request Assembly Speaker
Pratapsingh Rane to summon a special session to commemorate
golden jubilee year of Goa`s liberation from Portuguese rule.
Brar said though a list of invitees has not been
finalised, the possibility of having Gandhi, President
Pratibha Patil or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the event
was being explored.
Meanwhile, the idea of Gandhi addressing the session has
been critcised by BJP, which accused the Congress of trying to
"hijack" the celebrations.
"Rahul Gandhi was not even born when Goa was liberated.
Congress thinks that Goa is its backyard," BJP spokesman
Govind Parvatkar said, adding that the party would "naturally
oppose" any proposal to have Gandhi address the Assembly.
Congress has also planned a `padayatra` by Chief Minister
Digambar Kamat and is contemplating erecting a statue of Goan
freedom fighter and former Goa Congress president Purshottam
Kakodkar, in the Parliament premises, Brar added.
PTI
