Panaji, Mar 23 (TOI): Having burnt its fingers in the 'alliance' forged prior to the state legislature for the budget session, the Congress is smarting under the barbs of independent MLAs and appears resolute that it will contest the polls on its own.

Speaking at a press conference, party spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar ruled out any tie-ups for the 2017 assembly elections pointing out that Goa in-charge, Digvijay Singh has clearly stated that the party would contest all 40 seats.

This comes just a day after GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro called on secular and like-minded parties to come together to overthrow the BJP in the state.

"People who claim to take Goa forwards only want themselves to go forward and their ego, arrogance and selfish intentions will prove unhealthy for the interests of Goa," Kawthankar said. "Some non-Congress leaders felt that they could dictate terms to the opposition."

A day earlier, Congress legislator Vishwajit Rane threatened to quit the party if it joined hands with independent MLA Vijai Sardesai for the assembly elections. Kawthankar was responding to concerns that the alliance for the budget session appeared to have broken within days, hampering chances of a coming together for the assembly polls.

GPCC also questioned the state government's need to hike value added tax on petrol when global crude oil prices had crashed. "If the government is in need of revenue then why did they reduce the import duty on coal for the benefit of Adani? The state government is losing 800 crore due to the loss of import duty on coal through MPT. Is it Adani's government of the common man's?" he asked.