NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Stating that the BJP-led coalition government will collapse on its own, newly appointed Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Shantaram Naik Saturday said that toppling the government is not his priority and that the party would rather wait for the current government to collapse.
“We will not topple any government but the government will collapse on its own. Then we will not shirk from our responsibility of giving an alternative government,” said Naik while speaking to media persons soon after taking charge from the outgoing party president Luizinho Faleiro. When questioned whether he visualises that he may also face similar opposition within the party as the outgoing president had to face against his leadership, Naik said, “I don’t visualise anything. I propose to work with everybody and if there are any differences, we can solve them amongst us. Through my actions and work, all the MLAs will come together.” He said that he will work to strengthen the Congress party at the grassroots level and he himself will monitor each and every ward of the panchayats and the party at the booth level.
“I will prepare the updated and revised list of party workers and upload it on my I-Pad so that I need not refer to the party office records and it will be my basic instrument of work. I will also study the booth-wise voting pattern and give this task to our workers. Study at the booth level will enable us to strengthen the party,” he said.
“As far as the constituencies, which we have won are concerned, our MLAs are nursing those constituencies and I need not lay stress in those constituencies today, but I have to see what I can do with respect to the constituencies, which we have lost,” he said.
Naik said that the GPCC will form six committees to study the schemes of the government so that whenever people require advice, it will be able to render it. He said that the Congress party will take the issues to the ruling government in the state on the basis of its own party assembly election manifesto and urge the government to implement it, as he felt it is the best amongst the other political parties’ entire manifesto.
Naik said that the party will do an assessment regarding membership, as according to him there was some dullness in the membership drive of the party. “I will do an assessment, as we have not stressed on it in the last five to six months. Hence, we don’t have proper percentage of membership in Goa. I will consult PRO and see what can be done at this stage,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Faleiro welcomed Naik and officially handed over charge of the office to him in the presence of leader of the opposition Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar, GPCC vice president M K Shaikh, Congress MLAs Ravi Naik, Jennifer Monserrate, Antonio Tony Fernandes and other party office bearers.
‘Praising’ Faleiro for taking Congress from six to 17 seats in the February assembly election, Ravi Naik said, “Faleiro has worked well to take us from six to 17 seats. He could not visit each and every house and could not interact closely with individuals. If he had to do it, we could have won 30-40 seats. Now, we have a new president and I hope he will be able to form Congress government in the state.”