MARGAO
Reminding that the Congress and the Opposition group in the Goa Legislative Assembly comprises of 15 MLAs, newly-appointed Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Michael Lobo on Friday said the Congress will not shy away from forming a government if by any chance the BJP government collapses under its own weight.
He went to the extent of saying that he will step aside to make way for anyone coming out of the ruling party to become the next Chief Minister of Goa.
He was replying to a question posed by The Goan during his courtesy visit on senior Congress MLA Digambar Kamat on Friday whether the Congress by any chance can return to power in the current term.
“In the politics of Goa, anything and everything is possible. We have to wait for our time. Presently, the time is not on our side, but we will work as a strong opposition by highlighting the issues plaguing the State and the people,” he said.
When pressed further, Michael quipped, “If we get the opportunity at any given time, we will not shy away. We are 15 as of today, including the 11 Congress MLAs, Goa Forward one, AAP two and Revolutionary Goans one. Besides, there are three independents and two MGP MLAs. Let us see in what direction the government is going forward.”
He, however, hastened to add that he is not in the race to become the Chief Minister. “In this situation, a situation whereby the ruling government comes down, I will not be in the race. We will make the people who come to our side the Chief Minister.”
Further asked whether there’s any possibility of the Congress coming back to power in this term, he shot back, “Anything is possible in Goa. That is always a possibility in Goa. It has happened in Goa and Goa has shown the way to the entire nation. The defection and political turbulence witnessed in the State is written in history. You cannot wipe them out.”
When further asked how stable is the BJP government that has assumed office earlier this week, Michael said, “The way they are going in a slow mode sheds light what’s happening in the government. You have to understand there are very tall leaders in the party, who were earlier with the Congress. Every leader is aspiring to become the Chief Minister. Every leader behaves like a Chief Minister. We don’t want to comment on them, but let us wait and see.”
