Congress may face defections in Goa, removes Lobo as Leader of Opposition
The Congress party in Goa appeared to be in disarray after indications that a group of eight MLAs were likely to cross over to the ruling BJP, with the party holding a press conference with only five of its 11 MLAs later in the day.
The Congress party in Goa appeared to be in disarray after indications that a group of eight MLAs were likely to cross over to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the party holding a press conference with only five of its 11 MLAs later in the day.
At the press conference, the party, however, claimed the support of six legislators.
Five MLAs, led by former chief minister Digambar Kamat, leader of opposition Michael Lobo, his wife Delilah and two others, Kedar Naik and Rajesh Faldesai, were at the official residence of chief minister Pramod Sawant, according to people familiar with the matter.
Sawant said the visit was to discuss pending work.
As things stand, the breakaway group does not have the required numbers to avoid action under the anti-defection law, leaving it unclear how they plan to carry forward their split.
There was no official communication from the breakaway group on whether they were joining the BJP. The Congress, however, announced that a group of MLAs had revolted and promised action against them.
“There was a conspiracy that was hatched by the BJP in collusion with two of our leaders to ensure that the Congress, which is the principal opposition party, is weakened, and to engineer splits and defections within the Congress,” All India Congress Committee desk-in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao announced late on Sunday evening.
The conspiracy was led by Kamat, who Rao said went towards the BJP for power and position. “We will be taking action against the two and Lobo is removed as leader of opposition with immediate effect, and we will be acting against other MLAs as per law,” Rao added.
It emerged on Sunday that there were two camps within the Congress — one of five MLAs who were said to be eager to join the BJP, while another camp of six MLAs staunchly opposed to the move.
The move appeared to fizzle out after an earlier meeting called in Margao by Rao saw the presence of nearly all of the 11 Congress MLAs at a south Goa hotel.
Congress chief whip Carlos Ferreira said the party called a meeting because it didn’t want to be caught napping. “When there are rumours, we usually dismiss them. But we wanted to come together and assess the ground situation. We didn’t want to be caught sleeping,” Ferreira said earlier on Sunday.
After a series of meetings during the day in Margao in south Goa, the Congress leadership called for a press conference that was to be held at the state headquarters.
However, after stopping at the Congress headquarters for the scheduled press conference, Lobo showed up at the chief minister’s official residence and was later joined by his wife and two others. Kamat wasn’t present but is said to be in touch with the BJP, the people cited above said, seeking anonymity. Their attempts to get others to join the breakaway group appeared to have been futile.
The Congress rushed Rao in the state on Saturday, who held a meeting of 10 of the 11 Congress MLAs to put up a united face. However, there were indications that a switch over is likely to happen on Sunday, on the third anniversary of the day when 10 MLAs formed a separate faction and crossed over to the BJP in 2019.
In the 40-member assembly, the ruling BJP has 20 seats, one short of majority. The party enjoys the support of three independents and two members of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.
Goa has a history of defections and individuals changing parties having created a record for having thirteen chief ministers in 12 years between 1989 and 2000.
During the previous term of the Legislative assembly, this was highlighted by ten of the then 15 MLAs merging with the BJP, and also saw 27 of the 40 MLAs no longer with the party they were first elected from.
Earlier on Sunday, Rao said after a meeting of Congress MLAs that he had called the meeting to plan the party’s strategy for the upcoming monsoon session of the assembly, which begins on Monday.
The BJP’s rush to complete the crossover is said to be on account of July 10 being Ashadi Ekadashi, considered an auspicious day.
Speaker of assembly Ramesh Tawadkar arrived at the House, a visit he claimed was on account of the budget session beginning Monday, but it only lent further credence to speculation that he was there to receive the Congress MLAs should they arrive there to announce a split and merger with the BJP.
The Speaker also withdrew a notification calling for the election of the deputy speaker that was scheduled for Tuesday.
In the run up to the Goa assembly elections, the Congress candidates had submitted sworn affidavits that they will not switch over to the BJP, which were signed in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Goa.
The then candidates had also taken vows before the Mahalaxmi Temple in Panaji, the Holy Cross Shrine and a mosque, vowing not to switch over to the BJP.
However, the ruling BJP had begun targeting members of the opposition, including Lobo, with health minister Vishwajit Rane accusing Lobo of having committed “gross illegalities”, which ironically are alleged to have happened during the time Lobo was Rane’s colleague in the cabinet led by Sawant.
In a late night tweet, Congress leader K C Venugopal said: “Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked MP Mukul Wasnik to rush to Goa to oversee the latest political developments in the state.”
