MARGAO
The no-confidence motion against Cuncolim Municipal Council Chairperson Laxman Naik was an all-Congress affair with almost all the ruling councillors signing the motion after his reported refusal to step down from office as per an understanding within the ruling group.
The five-member BJP group led by Videsh Desai, brother-in-law of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, had no role to play in the no-confidence motion, but Monday’s unfolding development wherein the Director of Municipal Administration (DMA) Gurudas Pilarnekar’s two letters addressed to the Cuncolim Municipal Chief Officer to postpone the no-trust motion, before withdrawing the same within minutes, gave clear indications that the opposition was not averse in capitalising on the differences in the Congress camp.
In the numbers game, the Congress group is comfortably placed with eight, enough to ensure the smooth passage of the no-trust motion and to vote out the beleaguered Chairperson.
The opposition BJP, however, does not have the required numbers for the moment to bail out the Congress-backed chairperson. If one adds the vote of Chairperson Laxman Naik, the opposition tally can go up to six in the 14-member body, still two short to foil the no-confidence motion.
Why 5 councillors wanted
no-trust meet after July 10?
When DMA Gurudas Pilarnekar sought postponement of the special meeting of the Cuncolim Council scheduled on Tuesday, many an eyebrow were raised why the DMA had even fixed the date to have the meeting postponed on July 11.
The DMA sought to postpone the special meeting and hold it on July 11 because the five opposition councillors have requested to defer the same after July 10 since they will be in Delhi for training.
Political observers, however, have been trying to figure out whether the timing of the postponed meeting was arrived at after considering that one of the ruling councillors was likely to head abroad for employment around July 10.
Take note, the Congress-backed councillors tabled the no-confidence motion only after the return of this ruling councillor, who was reportedly holed up abroad, indicating that the ruling group had moved the motion after ensuring they had the eight members to sign on the motion.
Congress councillors
in a huddle with Yuri
With the DMA Gurudas Pilarnekar’s two letters giving clear indications of an attempt to foil Tuesday’s no-confidence motion, wary Congress-backed councillors went into a huddle with Opposition Leader & Cuncolim MLA Yuri Alemao late Monday evening.
The eight ruling councillors were apparently in a huddle with the Opposition leader as they did not rule out the possibility of poaching by the ruling dispensation after the faux pass by the Municipal Director.
Whether the eight councillors would return home later in the night or will stay put in one place remains unknown, but sources said the Opposition leader does not want to take any chance against the backdrop of the unprecedented developments unfolding on Monday on the eve of the no-trust motion.
Why Congress moved no-trust
motion against its Chairperson
Opposition leader & Cuncolim MLA Yuri Alemao and his father former minister Joaquim Alemao reportedly gave the green signal to the ruling group of councillors to table the no-trust motion against Chairperson Laxman Naik after the latter refused to step down from office after completing two years.
The notice of no-confidence motion was tabled against the Chairperson days after the father-son duo called on Laxman Naik at his residence. Sources said Laxman was ready to step down from office, but on a condition that ruling councillor Landry Mascarenhas should not succeed him as the new chairperson.
During discussions, Laxman was believed to have told the duo that he is opposed to Landry as his successor on grounds that the latter had interfered in his ward sometime back.
Laxman’s condition, however, did not find favour with both Yuri and Joaquim, since they had reportedly given a word that Landry would succeed Laxman as the latter steps down after completing his tenure.
Sources said the father-son duo was also apparently worried that any delay in effecting a smooth transition of power may not augur well for the Congress group, fearing that the opposition BJP may try to fish in trouble waters and destabilise the lone Congress-ruled civic body in Goa.
