PANAJI: After staving off a possible split in its legislative wing in Goa, the Congress on Friday vowed to fight back strongly against what it called the ruling BJP’s attempt at “shopping” its lawmakers in the coastal state.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar accused the BJP of trying to lure its MLAs. Earlier in the day, Patkar met the party’s central leaders in New Delhi and discussed the political situation in Goa, days after the Congress accused some of its MLAs of “hobnobbing” with the BJP. тАЬDespite the BJP shopping for ministers, Congress will fight back stronger.
Evaluated the political situation with the high command during my visit to Delhi,тАЭ Patkar tweeted. Meanwhile, former GPCC president Girish Chodankar told PTI that the possibility of a split in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) still looms large.
He claimed five Congress MLAs, including Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat, were still in touch with the ruling party.
тАЬThey have a group of five MLAs who are waiting to add up three more so that they can merge the CLP into the BJP. They require eight MLAs to shift (without attracting provisions of anti-defection law),тАЭ Chodankar said. The Congress, which has 11 MLAs, witnessed turmoil when five legislators, including Lobo and Kamat, went “incommunicado” last Sunday amid defection talks only to surface the next day to attend the monsoon session of the Assembly and claim all was well in the opposition party.
On Sunday, the Congress removed Lobo from the post of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, accusing him and former chief minister Kamat of “conspiring and hobnobbing” with the BJP to engineer a split in the party’s legislative wing. The BJP has denied any role in the latest unrest in the Goa Congress.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar accused the BJP of trying to lure its MLAs. Earlier in the day, Patkar met the party’s central leaders in New Delhi and discussed the political situation in Goa, days after the Congress accused some of its MLAs of “hobnobbing” with the BJP. тАЬDespite the BJP shopping for ministers, Congress will fight back stronger.
Evaluated the political situation with the high command during my visit to Delhi,тАЭ Patkar tweeted. Meanwhile, former GPCC president Girish Chodankar told PTI that the possibility of a split in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) still looms large.
He claimed five Congress MLAs, including Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat, were still in touch with the ruling party.
тАЬThey have a group of five MLAs who are waiting to add up three more so that they can merge the CLP into the BJP. They require eight MLAs to shift (without attracting provisions of anti-defection law),тАЭ Chodankar said. The Congress, which has 11 MLAs, witnessed turmoil when five legislators, including Lobo and Kamat, went “incommunicado” last Sunday amid defection talks only to surface the next day to attend the monsoon session of the Assembly and claim all was well in the opposition party.
On Sunday, the Congress removed Lobo from the post of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, accusing him and former chief minister Kamat of “conspiring and hobnobbing” with the BJP to engineer a split in the party’s legislative wing. The BJP has denied any role in the latest unrest in the Goa Congress.
