BJP flag at Navelim panchayat draws Congress protest

Margao: Congress functionaries lodged a protest on Saturday regarding the presence of a BJP flag displayed on the compound wall of the Navelim panchayat building. The protest coincided with BJP’s scheduled Navelim karyakarta melava being held the same day.
Led by South Goa Congress president Savio D’Silva, a delegation of party functionaries visited the panchayat premises to express their objection to what they described as inappropriate political branding of govt property. According to D’Silva, the BJP flag was erected on April 6 to commemorate the party’s foundation day but remained in place despite the passage of nearly a week.
“The continued presence of a political party’s flag on govt property is unacceptable,” D’Silva said during the inspection. “Just because a BJP MLA currently represents Navelim in the assembly does not mean BJP has ownership of the Navelim panchayat buildings or institutions.”
Senior Congress functionary Savio Coutinho echoed these sentiments, emphasising that local self-govt bodies must maintain political neutrality. “You cannot saffronise local self-government institutions,” Coutinho remarked.
The Congress delegation formally demanded immediate removal of the flag from the panchayat premises. They demanded that panchayat officials provide an explanation for allowing the flag to remain displayed for an extended period.