National News
Goa is where the Congress Chhodo Yatra starts: 8 out of 11 party legislators decide to join the BJP, which is in power
Digambar Kamat, the former chief minister of the state, Michael Lobo, his wife Delilah, Rajesh Phaldesai, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Aleixo Sequeira, and Rudolf Fernandes are among the MLAs who have urged for the merger.
New Delhi: While Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, travels throughout the nation on a “Bharat Jodo Yatra” to revive the party, his own house in Goa disintegrated on Wednesday after eight of its 11 MLAs decided to join the governing Bharatiya Janata Party.
The state Assembly approved the resolution to join with the BJP legislative party. Prior to making the call, the eight also met Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the state secretariat.
In the 40-member Assembly, the governing BJP will have 28 MLAs if the merger goes through. Additionally, because two-thirds of Congress MLAs have elected to defect, they are not subject to the anti-defection law’s disqualification requirements.
Ramesh Tawadkar, the speaker of Goa, has reportedly flown back to the state from Delhi.
Digambar Kamat, a former state chief minister, his wife Delilah Lobo, Rajesh Phaldesai, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Aleixo Sequeira, and Rudolf Fernandes are the eight Congress MLAs who demanded the merger.
“The Goa Congress Legislature Party has passed the resolution to merge into the BJP. We have taken this decision to strengthen the hands of Narendra Modi and CM Pramod Sawant,” Michael Lobo said after meeting Sawant.
Lobo, a former minister in Goa’s last BJP government, had joined the Congress right before the state elections earlier this year. The leader added: “All top Congress leaders who strengthened the party will leave in the coming days because there are too many differences between them. We are representing the people, we will have to hear their voices. (They) told us to leave and we are leaving.”
According to sources, Kamat seconded Lobo’s resolution proposal. Following that, Sawant said that the eight MLAs had joined the BJP and that their formal induction will soon be complete.
“Congress chhodo (leave) yatra has begun from Goa and it will continue till 2024,” Sawant said, taking a dig at the party’s on-going “Bharat Jodo Yatra”.
Reacting to the developments, chairman of the Congress’ media department Pawan Khera said the BJP was disconcerted by the party’s nation-wide yatra.
“Those who could not participate in this tough journey to unite India, are now scared of the BJP and are joining those who are breaking India. It should be understood that India is watching,” Khera said in a tweet.
Vijai Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party – a Congress ally — slammed the dissident MLAs calling their move a “betrayal of the people”.
“This scornful act of undisguised loyalty and towards the very people who elected them will never be forgotten by the people of Goa,” Sardesai said.
The news comes two months after the party experienced a similar fright when five of its MLAs went missing before the Assembly’s Monsoon Session. They eventually joined in, though.
In charge of the Congress in Goa at the time, Dinesh Gundu Rao had fired Michael Lobo for allegedly conspiring with the BJP alongside Kamat to run the party’s legislative branch in the Assembly.
