PANAJI
Former Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) president Manoj Parab has broken his political silence, reigniting the party's internal feud months after stepping down and announcing a sabbatical from active politics.
Parab returned to social media on Thursday and launched a sharp attack on Licio Roncon, a close associate of RGP's lone MLA Viresh Borkar, accusing him of engineering divisions within the party and misleading party workers across Goa.
The latest controversy erupted after an audio clip, purportedly containing Roncon's speech, surfaced on social media and went viral. Reacting to the clip, Parab alleged that the recording was from a closed-door meeting in Margao and exposed efforts to deepen rifts within the party.
Parab claimed Roncon played a key role in creating discord between Hindu and Christian members of the RGP. He further alleged that Roncon selectively targeted Christian party workers and fostered internal differences for political gain.
"He speaks sweetly, but his actions tell a different story," Parab said in a social media post. He also accused Roncon of frequently attending party meetings while exerting pressure on members and allegedly acting at the behest of anti-Goa interests.
The development marks Parab's first major public intervention since the split between him and Borkar led to a power struggle within the party. Following the fallout, Borkar has assumed control of the RGP, while public exchanges between the rival camps largely remained confined to social media.
In recent weeks, however, Parab has appeared increasingly active. His meetings with supporters and visits to a public Ganesh celebration and a temple Calangute were widely viewed as signals of a possible political return.
Roncon meanwhile, has staunchly rejected the allegations. Responding to Parab's claims, he challenged critics to release the remaining 18 minutes of the audio recording.
"Make the full recording public. Let people judge for themselves," Roncon said, setting the stage for another round in the ongoing RGP feud.
