Rahul Gandhi to join Goy Rakhonn Yatra finale in Goa, targets BJP over ‘15 years of loot’

• Rahul Gandhi will join the concluding leg of Congress’s Goy Rakhonn Yatra in Goa on 18 October, ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

• He attacked the BJP’s record in government, alleging theft of land, money, jobs, MLAs and votes.

• The statewide campaign has focused on Goan identity, land protection, environmental concerns, corruption and unemployment.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will join the concluding leg of the party’s Goy Rakhonn (Save Goa) Yatra on Sunday, 18 October, stepping up its campaign against the BJP government ahead of the 2027 Goa Assembly elections.

Announcing his participation, Gandhi described the BJP’s tenure as “15 years of misrule and loot”, accusing the ruling party of wrongdoing involving land, public money, jobs, legislators and elections.

“Goa is not for sale. Goa belongs to its people,” he said, urging supporters to join him at Calconda at 3.30 pm to defend the state’s identity, dignity and future.

The yatra, which began on 22 September, is Congress’s statewide mobilisation and voter outreach campaign. The party has framed it around protecting Goemkarponn, or Goan identity, alongside the state’s land, environment and communal harmony.

During the campaign, Congress has raised concerns over alleged land grabbing, land conversion, hill cutting and environmental damage. It has also targeted Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning Act, alleged irregularities in government recruitment, unemployment and the alleged cash-for-jobs scam.

The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee welcomed Gandhi’s participation, calling on supporters to gather in Navelim and Margao for the culmination. In a post on X, the party described the event as a mobilisation for Goa’s land, identity and people’s voice.

The campaign comes as Congress seeks to strengthen its organisation and public support before the next Assembly election, expected by March 2027. In the 2022 polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 20 seats in the 40-member Assembly, while Congress won 11.

With agency inputs