Goa: 'We Are With Congress,' Says Michael Lobo As Party Set To Announce New CLP Leader | Updates

Michael Lobo, removed from the post of Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, said that the five MLAs said to be "incommunicado" are still with the Congress.

New Delhi: Congress MLA Michael Lobo, removed from the post of Leader of Opposition in the Goa state Assembly, said that the five MLAs said to be "incommunicado" are still with the party. The five Congress MLAs, believed to be joining BJP, attended the Assembly proceedings on the first day of the monsoon session on Monday and claimed there was "nothing wrong" in the opposition party. This came after the Congress accused Lobo and former chief minister Digambar Kamat of "conspiring" and "hobnobbing" with the ruling party to engineer a split in the former's legislative wing.

The Congress will announce the name of its new leader of opposition before the commencement of the Assembly session, Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar said.

"I've submitted the letter to the Speaker regarding the resolution of CLP meeting to remove CLP leader (Michael Lobo). Our new CLP leader will be finalised by today and we will submit the same... we have 6 MLAs with us and one more is expected; a total of 7," the GPCC president said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

On the other hand, Michael Lobo asserted the faction is still with the Congress party.

"There is nothing wrong. I don't know what is the problem. All Congress MLAs were together. We went to South Goa for a meeting on Sunday. They (Congress leaders) again wanted to have another press conference which was not required, so we did not attend it," the former LoP said.

On being removed as LoP, he claimed: "We are with the Congress party. I had told Dinesh Gundu Rao (Goa AICC incharge) that I'm not interested to continue as the LoP because there are various issues raised against me by the government, so I said it will be difficult and embarrassing for others, choose someone else."

Earlier, Five of the total 11 Congress MLAs, in the 40-member Goa Assembly were said to be with the party, while five others were believed to be out of reach.

Another MLA Aleixo Sequeira was at home and pledged his support to the party.

News agency PTI reported a senior Congress leader as confirming that they have moved the five MLAs, who are with the party, to an undisclosed location to avoid further 'split'.

"These MLAs will arrive at the Assembly complex to participate in the session,” he said.

No Info About 'Split' In Goa Congress Legislature Party: Speaker

Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Monday said he had not received any intimation about a 'split' in the state Congress Legislature Party.

On Monday, when reporters asked about a "split" in the Congress, the Speaker said, “I have no intimation whatsoever. I was in my office on Sunday preparing for the monsoon session of the Assembly." He also replied in the negative when asked if he was informed about the change of Leader of Opposition by the Congress Legislature Party, PTI reported.

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

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday asked senior party leader Mukul Wasnik to rush to Goa to "oversee latest political developments" in the state.

Earlier, addressing a press conference in Panaji, Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu 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 has come 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.

"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)