again Panaji, Dec 17 (PTI) Getting into an election mode, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today appealed to the people in Goa to repose their faith in Congress and get the party back in power in the forthcoming state Assembly elections. Addressing her first public meeting here after recovering from a surgery, she said, "Now, this is not really an occasion for a political speech but elections for the state Assembly will take place in couple of months. I hope people of Goa will place faith in the Congress party again." Goa will go for polls along with states like Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur over the next few months. In a short, ten minute speech at the rally estimated to be attended by over 20,000 people, she touched upon topics concerning Goa like environment and the 'Regional Plan 2021' which has become an important issue here. However, she refused to commit anything about the special status for Goa, which she had promised during her last visit. She said that the central government was sensitive to Goa's concerns on environment front. "Congress is sensitive towards the environmental concerns. Time to time we have been taking steps to protect Goa's environment," she said. The Congress chief was accompanied by Defence Minister A K Anthony. She also laid a foundation stone for 'Vijay Smarak' at Aguada, a historic fort.
