PANAJI
After abstaining from voting on the motion of confidence, Vishwajit Rane on Thursday resigned as the Valpoi MLA and from Congress party. Rane stormed out of the House after being administered the oath as an MLA and later formally submitted a handwritten letter of resignation to pro-tem speaker of the Goa legislature Siddharth Kuncalienkar.
Speaking to the media, the junior Rane stated, “My resignation is a step against the Congress leadership. I will contest from Valpoi again and once reelected, I will support the BJP.”
He blamed the Congress national leaders in charge of Goa desk for the failure of Congress in forming a government and in negotiating with potential allies.
“Congress lost the opportunity as Digvijaya Singh and other leaders from Delhi mismanaged the negotiations with potential allies and about the leader of Congress Legislative Party. We were elected as the single largest party. The expectation was that all the anti-BJP forces will come together and form the government. Why should people trust us again and elect us if we can’t form the government even when we are the single largest party?” Rane questioned.
He further charged that the Congress national leaders made a mockery of the selection of the CLP leader and then of the appointment of the leader of opposition by choosing Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavalekar over 11 term-MLA Pratapsing Rane and senior leader Digambar Kamat.
“National leadership of Congress needs to initiate action against general secretary of AICC Digvijaya Singh. The national leaders who were here in Goa have failed and are destroying the party. Congress needs to introspect,” Rane fumed.
He insisted that his move is aimed at keeping his promise of employment and development to Valpoi and Poriem constituencies.
Rane further sought to clear the air about his links with the BJP and said, “I have not met Parrikar and I am not in touch with the BJP about any cabinet berth. I will go back to the people to get a fresh mandate. For two days, I will discuss this situation with my supporters.”
