the goan I network
MARGAO
Last week’s political developments, which saw 10 Congress MLAs crossing over to the BJP, has thrown up a debatable question for the Congress leaders “ will the Congress prefer to do business with Goa Forward party headed by Vijai Sardesai within and outside the Legislative Assembly?
A consensus on the ticklish question may elude the Congress camp, with the party organisation likely to oppose any truck with Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai and the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Digambar Kamat favouring coordination with the opposition parties, including Goa Forward.
This question has come to the fore at the Congress party forums, with Sardesai now no longer part of the coalition government, throwing up a question how the opposition Congress would deal with the regional party. The question has assumed significance with party leaders in private saying that the party rank and file has neither forgotten nor forgiven the Goa Forward and its leaders for sabotaging the Congress party’s bid to form the government post-2017 Assembly election.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Girish Chodankar was more forthright in saying that the Congress should have no truck with the 10 defectors or those who had tied up with the BJP to form the coalition government after the 2017 Assembly election. “If you read the sentiments of the people, the message is loud and clear for the Congress party, not to align with the party defectors as well as the Goa Forward party, which aligned with the BJP to scuttle the 2017 public mandate in favour of the Congress and secular forces,” Girish said.
In fact, Girish pointed out that the recent political developments have only brought to fore the people’s anger not only against the defectors but against those responsible for denying the Congress an opportunity to form the government. “As far as the Congress organisation is concerned, the party will keep the defectors as well as the Goa Forward party at arm’s length,” he said.
Girish, however, said he is leaving to the Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat to take a call on question such as floor coordination with the opposition parties on the floor of the House.
Sources in Congress say that a section of the party is of the strong opinion that the party should chart out an independent course keeping in mind the next Assembly elections due in 2022. With the BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi going great guns at the Centre and no possibility of forming an alternate government in Goa, Congress leaders opine that the party should gear up to take on both the BJP and the Goa Forward by tapping the strong public sentiments.
Incidentally, Leader of the Opposition, Digambar Kamat does not rule out floor coordination with the opposition parties, including GFP, MGP and the Independents. “As Leader of the Opposition, my responsibility is to ensure coordination amongst the opposition parties at least on the floor of the House. The party may have a different agenda outside the House,” he said. Kamat warned that a disunited opposition may send a wrong message to the public on the question of executing its role in a democratic set up.
