Goa politics has a new twist when 5 MLAs of the goa congress legislator party skipped the crucial party meeting held in a hotel in Margoa brewing a revolt among its members. In the house of 40 members of goa, BJP becomes the single largest party in goa with 20 MLAs while Congress has mere 11 MLAs.
On Sunday speculations were doing the rounds when two senior MLAs and a few other MLAs of the congress party are hatching to switch sides.Congress party members file a disqualification petition against Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo for creating mutiny among the members.
Goa Congress Party
According to sources, a senior congress MLA Digambar Kamat, leader of opposition Michael Lobo and a few other Congress MLAs were speculated to cross over to the saffron. Members of congress now demanding the disqualification of Digambar Kamat, and Michael Lobo who were suspected to be the masterminds of wooing its other members to leave the party.
A day ago, Congress removed Michael Lobo from the post of leader of the opposition owing to the reports that some congress MLAs got influenced by Lobo to join the ruling camp, and soon the new leader of the opposition will be presented before the assembly session.
Disqualification Petitions Filed
Petitions were filed against 5 MLAs which include Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Faldesai, and Delilah Lobo who had gone incommunicado on Sunday and will have to present in the assembly. Congress’s goa desk in charge Dinesh Gundu Rao put allegations on Kamat and Lobo for betraying the party and planning to join hands with the BJP
Rao had given the infamous tag to Lobo as a “traitor” and “backstabber” and alleged that Kamat was engaging in a “cheap, filthy, and desperate” politics game. “ Both Kamat and Lobo conspired to spilt the party for personal gain. These 2 have been secretly working with the saffron to weaken congress so that the BJP will take goa in its authoritarian regime.” Said Dinesh Gundu Rao
Talking to the media Mr. Kamat, a former chief minister, who was in the BJP and later switched to congress just before the elections earlier this year, said he was “shocked and stunned” at the allegations of defection and betraying the party. He refuted congress’s goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao’s charge that the two leaders were hobnobbing with the ruling BJP for personal gain.
MLA Michael Lobo also refuted Rao’s allegations and told the media, that he was “deeply hurt” and we both still strongly stood with the Congress party. Exactly 3 years ago, the Congress legislature party had split with the then opposition leader Chandrakant “Babu” Kavlekar leading a 10-member group of Congress MLAs, and later merged with BJP.
State Congress president Amit Patkar asserted that BJP’s hands involve splitting congress. “The party is intact. If someone wants to divide the party, they have to resign and re-contest and they must introspect and think about what they will tell their voters,” he said.
Further, he added “ We are filing a disqualification petition against our two senior leaders. They have voluntarily given up the membership of their party and on the basis of that, we are filing the petition.”Hearing all the talks Goa CM Pramod Sawat alleged congress of playing blame game drama as the BJP doesn’t need anyone to join in. The party is a stable government and can govern without any support.
