PANAJI
The ongoing internal turmoil in the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) is showing no signs of ebbing and the public slugfest on social media by members aligned to either factions continued on Wednesday.
Now openly divided, with party president Manoj Parab and Sant Andre MLA Viresh Borkar leading rival camps, the feud continues to simmer through cryptic and sometimes crass social media posts from members.
Dagley Fernandes, one of the party leaders from Salcete aligned to Borkar, penned an article titled “Viresh Borkar’s Silence”, arguing that it is not weakness but preparation for a larger struggle.
The article, widely shared online, claimed Borkar’s silence reflects discipline and strategy, not fear. It warned that corruption allegations against him were baseless, and that his restraint was a deliberate choice.
Parab, meanwhile, continues to enjoy the backing of some key office bearers, including General Secretary Vishwesh Naik and treasurer Ajay Kholkar among others.
Borkar, on the other hand is supported by Dagley, St Lawrence ZP member Trupti Bacal, North Goa General Secretary Licio Roncon, and several UK based members and supporters.
The feud which had been simmering for weeks, had sharpened on Tuesday after Parab began targeting RGP workers in Borkar’s Sant Andre constituency and the party's core executive committee expelling Julius Almeida, a panch member from Agacaim.
Pressure then mounted on Borkar from supporters to respond and after maintaining a stoic silence for several days he finally broke it but merely insisted there were “no divisions in the party” while denying rumours of a crossover to the Congress.
Parab, on the other hand, went ballistic with multiple Facebook posts on social media which lashed out at Borkar’s aides but on Wednesday morning, he doubled down, writing another cryptic message which read: “In today’s world, humility is seen as diplomacy, and arrogance as frankness.”
Borkar on the contrary has remained outwardly calm, avoiding direct comment on the feud and restricting his social media posts to highlighting daily constituency-level work, with no mention of the party crisis.
With the rival factions trading posts and accusations, the RGP’s internal turmoil is now fully exposed and the party, once united around Goan identity issues, now faces a test of survival as its leaders battle in full public view.
