Panaji: Getting into an election mode,
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appealed to the people
in Goa to repose their faith in Congress and get the party
back in power in the forthcoming state Assembly elections.
Addressing her first public meeting here after recovering
from a surgery, she said, "Now, this is not really an occasion
for a political speech but elections for the state Assembly
will take place in couple of months. I hope people of Goa will
place faith in the Congress party again."
Goa will go for polls along with states like Punjab,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur over the next few
months.
In a short, ten minute speech at the rally estimated to be
attended by over 20,000 people, she touched upon topics
concerning Goa like environment and the 'Regional Plan 2021'
which has become an important issue here. However, she refused
to commit anything about the special status for Goa, which she
had promised during her last visit.
She said that the central government was sensitive to
Goa's concerns on environment front.
"Congress is sensitive towards the environmental concerns.
Time to time we have been taking steps to protect Goa's
environment," she said.
The Congress chief was accompanied by Defence Minister AK
Anthony.
She also laid a foundation stone for 'Vijay Smarak' at
Aguada, a historic fort.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 17, 2011, 08:58