Goa Congress Under Fire for Kharge Photo Omission on Banner

Panaji, June 2 (PTI): The Goa Congress is under fire after it allegedly omitted a photo of its national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, from a banner displayed during the Statehood Day celebrations last week. While Congress representatives stated that the exclusion of Kharge's image was due to an "error," the ruling BJP accused the party of "humiliating its Dalit president."

The state Congress had held a gathering in Panaji on May 30 to mark Goa Statehood Day, having previously canceled a public meeting in Navelim, South Goa, where Kharge was expected to attend. A banner at the event featured photos of prominent Congress figures, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Goa party chief Amit Patkar, and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao. However, Kharge’s photo was notably absent.

The Goa BJP shared an image of the banner on their X handle on Saturday, accompanied by remarks alleging that the Congress had "humiliated their Dalit president." "Was Mallikarjun Kharge's photo deliberately omitted from the Congress' official Goa Statehood Day banner – a snub to the party's own national president?" the BJP questioned.

Speaking with PTI, state Congress chief Amit Patkar asserted that Kharge's photo was "erroneously" omitted from the banner. "If you inspect the other posters we distributed across the city, you’ll see his picture included," Patkar explained. "This is a minor error. Why is this being blown out of proportion? We are addressing far more serious issues involving the BJP," he added.

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