NT NETWORK

PANAJI

Hours after two of its MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte resigned and joined the BJP, the Congress party on Tuesday said that it cannot stake claim to form government now.

The party, however, stated that it would form the government after bypolls in Mandrem and Shiroda, which will be held in the next six months.

“We cannot claim to form the next government, as currently we (Congress) and BJP both are equal with 14 MLAs each. BJP is out to break and poach the MLAs by using money power or terror because our MLAs have been saying that they are threatened and their families are also threatened,” said Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar. He said that the party was unaware as to what exactly transpired between Shirodkar, Sopte and the BJP for the Congressmen to cross over to that party.

In the recent past, the Congress party had met Governor Mridula Sinha on two occasions and staked claim to form an alternative government.

“After both of them left Goa on Monday night, I enquired and came to know that Vishwajit Rane convinced them to come to Delhi and bargained with the BJP high command that if he brings two of our MLAs then he should be made chief minister,” said All India Congress Committee secretary in-charge of Goa desk Chella Kumar.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) held a daylong meeting at the official residence of leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar at Altinho in Panaji which was also attended by Chella Kumar and Chodankar.

Interacting with the media, Kavlekar said that the BJP has taken away two of its MLAs using central government’s machinery. “BJP knew that they were falling short of the majority and today it has come to light that they have taken two Congress MLAs to Delhi by luring them with packages,” Kavlekar said. He said that the party would field its candidates in both the constituencies and leave no stone unturned to defeat the BJP candidates. However, when questioned whether Congress has probable candidates to field in these two constituencies, he kept mum. He later said, “We have people with us who have defeated BJP candidates in the past.”

“We will not get cowed down by the BJP’s luring of candidates and destroying of the institution of democracy. We will go to any extent and fight for these two seats and teach them a lesson,” Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco said.

“We are in the 21st century and we are in a matured democracy and they (BJP) should not indulge in this kind of cannibalism. People of Goa will teach them a lesson,” senior Congress leader and Poriem MLA Pratapsingh Rane said.

Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro said that it was the ‘murder to democracy’ and that BJP has no value for the Constitution of India.  “It is a matter of shame for all of us; it is before the world and the country how BJP can stoop so low and they are destroying the Constitution of India and democracy,” he said.

Ponda MLA Ravi Naik said that if BJP believed in democracy then it should not have poached the two Congress MLAs. He said inducting the two Congress MLAs into BJP would prove to be the biggest mistake of national president of BJP Amit Shah.