PANAJI
Five members of the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP), including two founder members, on Saturday sought to counter speculation around an alleged decision of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) to wind up the outfit.
Founder members Prashant Pagi and Vishal Desai, along with executive committee members Premanand Gawde and Candidio Correa, said the reports of the move to dissolve the party without consulting MLA Viresh Borkar, were misleading.
Addressing a press conference in the city, they said the executive committee had no authority to dissolve the party and argued that the power lay with the general body.
They insisted that the party will continue and accused party president Manoj Parab of failing to clarify the matter of dissolution of the party.
They recalled RGP’s rise since 2019, when it mobilized support on environmental issues and migrant influx, eventually securing 10 percent of the vote share in 2022 and getting Borkar elected to the Assembly.
Pagi noted that many members had sacrificed their personal careers to build the movement, and warned against unilateral decisions.
The press conference further highlighted the growing friction between Parab and Borkar with Gawde alleging that Parab pushed for the expulsion of Julius Almeida, angering the St Andre block.
Correa claimed that Parab ignored calls for wider consultation and accused him of withholding reports of CEC meetings from Borkar under the pretext of confidentiality.
The members also demanded that the long overdue general body meeting be convened immediately to hear voices of grassroot members.
“We will not permit the party to be shut. We are preparing for the 2027 elections,” Correa declared.
