New Delhi: Eight out of 11 Congress MLAs in Goa on Wednesday joined the BJP after boiling the pitcher of defection for nearly two months. Congress MLAs included former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo, his wife Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rudolfo Fernandes, former Goa Power Minister Alexo Sequeira, Rajesh Phal Desai and Sankalp Amonkar.
Speaking to the media, Michael Lobo confirmed, “We have joined BJP to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant…’ Congress chodo, BJP jodo (Quit Congress, join BJP). ‘.”
After meeting the secretary of the legislature along with eight MLAs who merged the Congress Legislature Party with the BJP, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said: “Today, Congress MLAs have merged with the BJP. The process will be completed. The MLAs including Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo and their accompanying MLAs have come keeping in mind the vision of PM Narendra Modi for the construction of New India and development of Goa. They have joined the government and supported us. I welcome them. This will prove to be a historic decision in the development of Goa.” Speaking to reporters outside the Goa Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister, however, did not take much questions.
Meanwhile, Kamat said: “The decision was based on circumstances. I had said in the beginning when I was not made the leader of the opposition. What is happening in Congress is not right. If you read the letter, it is about Congress Jodi and not Bharat Jodi. The work done under PM Modi has earned international respect for the citizens of India. In Margao, my workers said that the (Congress) party is not doing anything. That’s why we have decided to participate in the development of Goa.”
Asked by reporters why he went back on the oath he had taken before the assembly polls to not part ways with the Congress, Kamat said: “Yes, I had taken an oath before God that I would not defect. I am a God-fearing person. I went and met God again and explained the current circumstances and asked God what I should do. God told me to take a decision and he would support me.”
In 2019, 10 Congress MLAs and two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) had similarly merged their legislature parties with the BJP.
With the “merger” of the Congress legislature party with the BJP, the ruling party in the coastal state will have 33 out of 40 MLAs – 20 from the BJP who won the assembly elections, two from the MGP and three independents who gave support. to form the government in March.
The first attempt at defection in July was foiled after the Congress party accused Michael Lobo and Kamat of defection in engineering. Disqualification petitions are pending against him.
Due to the defection of these MLAs, three MLAs will be from the Congress and seven from the opposition parties. The three legislators who are with the Congress are Altón d’Acosta, Yuri Alemao and Carlos Ferreira.
This defection comes despite pledges of loyalty that Congress MLAs had taken at various places of worship, including a temple and a church, ahead of the February assembly elections. He had also signed an affidavit in this regard.
In the 40-member house, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 20 MLAs, the Congress 11, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 2, the MGP 2, and the Goa Forward Party and Revolutionary Goa Party one each. There are three independents.
In a statement, Goa Forward Party president Vijay Sardesai said the Congress MLAs’ decision was an “act of pure evil”. “The eight MLAs who, against all political propriety, basic decency and honesty, have decided to pursue their greed for money and hunger for power, stand today as symbols of pure evil, their brazen selfishness, greed and Displaying deceit, disregarding. Almighty God, ”said Sarde.
BJP is in power not because of people’s mandate but because of deceit, has reduced democracy and parliamentary politics to its nadir, has turned Goa into ridicule, public representatives as goods like sacks of wheat Supposedly. bought for the price; And unscrupulous and unfaithful MLAs have allowed them to be bought like cattle,” Sardesai said, adding that “we, as a party, will fight this political plague that has destroyed Goa”.
