Goa Congress Crisis: Mukul Wasnik Rushed To Coastal State After 5 Of 11 MLAs Go 'Incommunicado'

The Congress has accused Michael Lobo and former chief minister Digambar Kamat of "conspiring" and "hobnobbing'' with the ruling BJP to engineer a split in the party's legislative wing.

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday asked senior party leader Mukul Wasnik to rush to Goa to "oversee latest political developments" in the state after the party revealed that five of its 11 MLAs in the state have gone "incommunicado". The Congress has accused two of these MLAs - Michael Lobo and former chief minister Digambar Kamat - of "conspiring" and "hobnobbing'' with the ruling BJP to engineer a split in the grand old party's legislative wing. The party has removed Lobo from the post of Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.

In a late-night tweet, AICC general secretary, organization, KC Venugopal, wrote, "Congress President has asked Shri @MukulWasnik, MP to rush to Goa to oversee latest political developments in the state." In a fresh trouble for the opposition Congress in Goa, the party said five of its 11 MLAs in the state have gone "incommunicado".

The announcement about the Congress MLAs going incommunicado and the sacking of Lobo from the post was made by the party's Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao late Sunday evening, on the eve of the assembly session.

Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat Accused Of 'Conspiring With BJP'

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Rao said, "Five Congress MLAs - Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Faldesai and Delialah Lobo - have gone incommunicado." However, five other legislators - Altone D'Costa, Sankalp Amonkar, Yuri Alemao, Carlose Alvares Ferreira, Rudolf Fernandes - are with the party, he added. These five MLAs were even present at the press conference addressed by Rao.

"Sixth MLA, Aleixo Sequeira, is in touch with the Congress leaders and is very much with the party," Rao informed. He alleged that "Lobo and Kamat were hatching a conspiracy by hobnobbing with BJP to engineer a split in the Congress. Therefore, the party has decided to remove Lobo from the post of the Leader of Opposition. Action will be taken against both Lobo and Kamat".

The development comes amid speculation that some Congress MLAs may cross over to the saffron party in Goa. Exactly three years ago, a group of 10 MLAs from the Congress had left the party and switched over to the BJP.

In the Pramod Sawant-led government, the ruling BJP has 20 MLAs, and it enjoys the support of five others - two from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three Independents. The grand old party had won 11 seats in the assembly polls held in February this year.

Congress party's Goa desk in charge Dinesh Rao said that if the five MLAs defect, they will have to face polls again as they do not enjoy the two-thirds majority of the party's legislative wing.

He recalled that before the assembly polls, all the Congress candidates had taken a vow before God that they would not defect to any other party if they get elected.

Rao recalled that before the assembly election, all the Congress candidates had taken a vow before God that they would not defect to any other party if they get elected.

"These MLAs have broken that vow," he stressed.

The development also comes close on the heels of the political turmoil in neighbouring Maharashtra, where the ruling Shiv Sena split following a rebellion by senior leader Eknath Shinde, who became the chief minister after Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the top post in the last week of June.

Shinde and his supporting MLAs had gone "incommunicado" on June 20-21 before moving to Surat and then to Guwahati. 

(With Agency Inputs)