the goan I network
PANAJI
Even as the monsoon assembly session is just two days away, the existing members of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Friday appeared to be completely in the dark over who will be taking over as Leader of Opposition (LoP).
In fact, even three days after the 10 Congress MLAs led by the Leader of Opposition Babu Kavlekar left the fold to join the ruling BJP, the CLP has not met a single time to discuss the way forward. What’s more, a meeting before the start of Monday’s Assembly Session has not yet been planned.
Goa in-charge of the Congress and AICC general secretary Dr A Chella Kumar told The Goan on Friday that an LoP would be chosen “soon.” However, he declined to specify a date. When asked if a CLP meeting had been scheduled, Dr Chella Kumar said,
“I am in touch with the MLAs individually.”
However, three of the five Congress MLAs were completely in the dark as to who would take the position. Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco told “The Goan” that he did not know who was in line to be LoP and that he would leave it to the “higher-ups” like Dr Chella Kumar and GPCC chief (in-limbo) Girish Chodankar to take a call.
Poriem MLA and former Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane, the senior-most MLA in the Congress said that he too was not aware of who was in line to lead the opposition party. Margao MLA and former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat reiterated that as the CLP had not met, he did not know who would fill the slot of LoP.
“The Goan” tried to get in touch with Navelim MLA and former CM Luizinho Faleiro, as well as Ponda MLA and another former CM Ravi Naik, but was unsuccessful.
