Former Rajya Sabha MP and Goa Congress chief Shantaram Naik
Goa Congress president Shantaram Naik on Tuesday submitted his resignation to party chief Rahul Gandhi saying his address at the plenary made him do so. Speaking to IndianExpress.com, Naik said Gandhi’s decision to break from tradition and keep the stage empty, inviting young leaders to take charge, is what ‘inspired’ him.
“I was inspired when Rahul spoke about how the younger generation should come forward and lead the party. I was tempted to tender my resignation then itself… But it was inappropriate. I sent my resignation via email to Rahul and Sonia Gandhi today saying my services will always be available to the party and its leadership,” Naik said. A former Rajya Sabha MP, he will turn 72 on April 12.
After the Congress party emerged as the single largest party in the February 2017 elections but failed to form government, then state party chief Luizinho Faleiro, a former Chief Minister, tendered his resignation following which Naik took over on July 7.
When asked who in his opinion was best suited to lead the party, Naik refused to name any individual saying it was for the party high command to decide but added that the ideal candidate should fit fulfill two conditions — have been a party worker for at least 10 years and should also have great love for the party.
Naik also said that the key issue ailing the state party leadership was the wall of sorts between the legislature wing of the party and the party pradesh leadership. “The new party chief should work to bridge that gap… My objective was that the party to get a honourable place in the system,” he said.
On Sunday, in his concluding remarks at the Congress Party plenary, Rahul Gandhi had vowed to break the wall between the senior leadership of the party and its young workers, thereby working towards building a new Congress with ‘talented youngsters’.
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Naik began his political career in 1967 when he joined the Congress as a party worker. He successfully contested the North Goa Lok Sabha seat in 1984 and was instrumental in the passage of the Statehood Bill that consequently granted statehood to Goa on May 30, 1987.