BJP targets Congress as Kharge’s photo left out of Goa Statehood Day poster

NEW DELHI: The Goa Congress has drawn criticism after failing to include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's photograph in a banner displayed during last week's Statehood Day celebration.

The banner, which featured prominent party leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, state party chief Amit Patkar, and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, was displayed at a meeting in Panaji on May 30. The event was organised after the cancellation of a public meeting in Navelim, South Goa, shere Kharge was expected to attend.

The ruling BJP seized the opportunity to criticize the Congress, posting the banner's image on its X handle. "Mallikarjun Kharge's photo deliberately left out from Congress' official Goa Statehood Day banner - a snub to the party's own national president?" the BJP wrote, accusing the Congress of "humiliating their Dalit president."


Meanwhile, Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar dismissed the issue as a minor oversight. "Kharge's picture was erroneously left out from the poster," Patkar told PTI. He defended the party by pointing out that Kharge's image appeared on other posters displayed across the city during the celebration.

"This is a small error. Why are you making an issue out of it? We are raising more serious issues against the BJP," Patkar added, attempting to downplay the controversy.