No alliance at the top, but Cong, AAP discuss strategy ahead of Goa assembly session
The session will be held from July 21 to August 8.
Congress and AAP MLAs attended a meeting called by Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao on July 15, while the leaders of other opposition parties including the Goa Forward Party and Revolutionary Goans Party remained absent.
"I convened a meeting with the opposition MLAs including AAP MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, and Congress's Carlos Alvares Ferreira and Altone D'Costa," Alemao said in a statement.
The purpose was to draw up the opposition's strategy, he said.
"The discussion was productive, with valuable inputs from MLAs Venzy Viegas, Carlos, Altone and Cruz on how to hold the BJP government accountable," said Alemao who belongs to the Congress.
"We are united in our determination to protect Goa from the corrupt BJP government's clutches," he added.
Congress MLAs have submitted over 750 Legislative Assembly Questions (LAQs) for the session, Alemao said.
AAP Goa president Amit Palekar said to attend the meeting was the decision of the legislative wing of his party. The AAP and Congress have decided to demand accountability from the BJP government on the floor of the House, he said, adding that a collective strategy was decided for the sake of the people of Goa.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, AAP MLAs Viegas and Silva said, "United we stand for Goa's justice. For meaningful change in the assembly, AAP and opposition parties must align their political and legislative wings. Common political discipline and collective action should happen."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
One Nation, Two Laws: Digvijaya Singh's social media post kicks up political row
BHOPAL: Rajya Sabha member and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh's Facebook post sparked a political row on Wednesday. Captioned 'Ek Desh Do Kanoon' (One Nation, Two Laws), the post by the septuagenarian politician showed two pictures – one where the Kanwar Yatra is blocking the road and the other where a cop is seen kicking men offering namaz on the road. The post pictorially questioned two sets of actions by authorities on the religious practices of different communities. The post triggered angry reactions from the ruling BJP. Slamming the senior Congress leader over the post, the MP cabinet minister, Vishwas Sarang, termed Singh as 'Maulana Digvijaya Singh.' 'He only opposes Sanatan Dharma. He has not even spared the holy Kanwar Yatra. What else can be expected from a man (Singh) who has glorified anti-India Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, but questioned every operation of the Indian defence forces and never missed any opportunity to defame the Sanatan Dharma and Hindu sadhus. But mocking our festivals and holy Yatras through such social media posts will no longer be tolerated, he (Singh) needs to apologise,' Sarang said.
The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Hyderabad to host AICC OBC advisory council meeting in October
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said that Hyderabad will host the next meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) OBC Advisory Council in October. Addressing the Council's ongoing session in Bengaluru on Wednesday, chaired by Karnataka Chief Minister and OBC Advisory Council Chairman Siddaramaiah, Mr. Mahesh Kumar said Telangana has emerged as a model State in implementing Backward Classes (BC) reservations in line with the vision of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Recalling the BC Declaration meeting held in Kamareddy ahead of the Assembly elections, the TPCC chief said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was the chief guest at the event, while he himself had proposed the declaration as the then TPCC working president. He added that after the Congress came to power in Telangana, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy extended full support to the BC reservation efforts, despite belonging to an upper-caste background. He stated that the Telangana Assembly had passed two BC-related Bills, including one providing for 42% reservations for BCs in local bodies. 'We are going to implement the reservations in the local body elections after the Governor approves the ordinance,' he said. Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Konda Surekha and Vakiti Srihari were present at the meeting.
The Print
36 minutes ago
- The Print
Hedging bets or posturing? In 1st social engineering attempt, Shinde Sena ties up with Ambedkar grandson
Analysts, however, say, Shinde's 'Bhimshakti' alliance is mere posturing at a time when the Shinde-led Shiv Sena is facing power tussles with ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its image has suffered a beating due to back-to-back controversies stirred by its leaders. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday clinched an alliance with the Republican Sena, a political outfit led by Anandraj Ambedkar, Dr B.R. Ambedkar's grandson. Mumbai: In preparation for the local body polls expected to be held across Maharashtra this year or early next year, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has taken a leaf out of his mentor, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's book, by getting a 'Bhimshakti' in his corner. But whether it will yield any political advantage remains to be seen. Ahead of the 2012 civic polls, the undivided Shiv Sena under Bal Thackeray along with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forged an alliance with Ramdas Athavale's Republican Party of India (RPI), despite the Shiv Sena's strained past with the Dalit community. The gambit had somewhat paid off at the ballot boxes. Political commentator Hemant Desai said, 'Eknath Shinde feels like his party's image has been getting maligned, and is looking for ways to give it a boost ahead of local body polls. He also wants to show that his party has a solid existence and can bring together leaders from diverse communities. But, politically, there will be no impact of this alliance. It just helps in posturing and spinning a narrative.' In the past month, leaders from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena such as Sanjay Gaikwad, Sanjay Shirsat and Sanjay Rathod have faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour or graft. On Monday, Deputy CM Shinde also warned his party cadre to not cause him any embarrassment. The BJP, meanwhile, has taken political advantage of these controversies, distancing itself from them in trying to win the perception battle. Also read: Shinde & Thackeray revive Shiv Sena's classic 'Marathi manus, sons of soil' pitch ahead of BMC polls Shinde's first attempt at social engineering Dr Sanjay Patil, researcher at Mumbai University's politics and civics department, told ThePrint, 'The local body polls are still some time away. The alliance is unlikely to bring any political gains as such. Prakash Ambedkar's name and party still has some following in parts of Maharashtra, but Anandraj Ambedkar has not developed the same kind of following. He has hardly spoken convincingly on issues or made any dent during elections.' The significance of the tie-up, however, lies in the fact that this is Eknath Shinde's first concrete attempt at social engineering, Patil said. Prakash and Anadraj Ambedkars are both grandsons of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Anandraj Ambedkar had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Amravati constituency, getting just 1.6 percent of the total votes polled. Prakash Ambedkar had contested the same election from Akola and lost too, but had clinched 23.59 percent of total votes. A tie-up with the 'legacy of blood' Post the 2012 alliance when Athavale came to the BJP-Shiv Sena fold, Athavale has remained loyal to the BJP and has been a minister of state in all three cabinets of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Wednesday, while announcing his party's alliance with Anandraj Ambedkar's outfit, Shinde recalled Bal Thackeray's 'Bhim Shakti-Shiv Shakti' formula, but emphasised more on Anandraj Ambedkar's legacy of being Dr BR Ambedkar's grandson. He said, 'We are two armies. One is an army that runs on the legacy of the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray, while the other is an army that runs on the legacy of the blood of Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. And that's why we will get along really well.' On his part, Anandraj Ambedkar said his outfit was allying with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena unconditionally. 'We have decided to go with him unconditionally. The only condition is that Eknathrao should include Ambedkarite karyakartas in power and he has given us this word,' Ambedkar said. In 2022, Uddhav Thackeray too had looked back on his father's 'Bhimshakti-Shiv Shakti' formula by allying with Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The alliance, however, did not work out within the broader Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance comprising the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Prakash Ambedkar's party ended up contesting independently, amid allegations of the VBA being the Mahayuti's B-team, and suffered a drubbing. The Mahayuti comprises the BJP, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Shinde said, the alliance between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the VBA did not work out within the larger MVA because 'MVA was formed for selfish reasons'. 'We have faith in each other. Our karyakartas are in sync so there should be no such problem in the Mahayuti,' he said. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Ahead of BMC polls, Fadnavis doubles down on scandal-ridden Shinde Sena MLAs but stops short of action
