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Goa’s Michael Lobo, now with BJP, makes a prophecy about top Congress leaders
Goa legislator Michael Lobo said there was no discipline in the Congress and the party’s top leaders were indifferent. “They don’t care,” he said after joining the BJP
PANAJI: Three-time Goa lawmaker Michael Lobo who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with seven legislators on Wednesday took a sharp swipe at the Congress, saying there was no unity in the party leadership and predicted that more Congress leaders will exit the party over the next three months.
“People have told us that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not going to be a success at all. People have seen the way there is a big infighting within the top most leaders of the Congress. Everyone is not on the same page,” Lobo said after the group of eight Congress lawmakers ‘merged’ the group with the BJP.
Lobo joined the Congress in January this year, weeks before the February 14 assembly election. Asked why he joined the Congress, Lobo said people in his constituency wanted him to leave the BJP at that time.
“Within the next three months, all the top leaders who strengthened that party are going to leave the Congress because there is too much indifference, they don’t care. From this post to the next position, when they are sitting in one meeting room, they have so many differences and the leadership does not care about it. This is the main reason that the people of India have seen that it is not worth staying in this 125-year-old political party. So people are leaving. So when people tell us -- we are representing the people of Goa -- when people tell us to leave, we have to hear (listen to) their voice,” Lobo said.
“We have seen how Congress leaders want to pull each other down. They want to pull the person who is on top, they want to pull him down. Not only in Goa, it is happening nationally. It is happening all over India. There is no discipline. If there is no discipline, if the leaders do not want to bring everybody together, then it cannot be called Bharat Jodo Yatra. You cannot bring the people together by just saying... when your own leaders are not together… They have a different opinion,” Lobo also said.
The Congress hit back at Lobo and others who quit the party.
Carlos Ferreira, one of the three remaining Congress legislators, said the so-called merger was a “dishonest move” and a shameful act by the BJP to induct the Congress MLAs when they already had sufficient numbers and there was no threat to the government. “It is a clear attempt by the BJP as a part of its programme to wipe out any opposition across the country,” Carlos Ferreira said.
“I feel it is time to clean up our party so that we can surely rebuild it even from scratch and give the people true leaders to save our beautiful Goa,” he said.
The defections come months after a split in Congress was averted in the state In July after the dissidents led by Lobo and Congress veteran Digambar Kamat failed to get the requisite numbers to switch to the BJP without attracting disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.
People aware of the matter said Kamat and Lobo’s efforts to win over more lawmakers continued after July and are believed to have travelled to Delhi to discuss the defection with BJP’s top leadership. Lobo last month visited Delhi and later claimed he was there to take part in the Congress protest against price rise and inflation even though he was not seen there. Kamat too denied reports about travelling to Delhi. But local media published a passenger list that showed Kamat had booked a ticket to Delhi. It was not known whether Kamat indeed took the flight.
