the goan I network
MARGAO
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general Secretary Dr Chellakumar has predicted that the day is not too far when the Congress will form the government in Goa, exuding confidence that like-minded parties and individuals will support the party in the formation of an alternate government.
He parried a question whether the Congress would prefer the support from the Goa Forward party or the MGP to form the alternate government. Dr Chella, however, hastened to add that in the game of numbers, the Congress requires the support of five MLAs to form the government, saying the party will get these numbers at the right time.
Before leaving for the national capital after a two-day visit to Goa, wherein he initiated the process to find a successor to outgoing GPCC chief Shantaram Naik, the AICC General secretary in-charge of Goa desk told The Goan that the Congress is not in a hurry to form the government, but pointed out that the days of the government are numbered and it will collapse under its own weight. “Within the next two months, the BJP will be thoroughly exposed for the various sins of omission and commission. Manohar Parrikar had rode to power in the 2012 election on the plank of corruption. Today, the Supreme Court has said the mining loot had started during the tenure of the BJP government”, he said.
That’s not all. He said the BJP government will find it hard to explain the youth of Goa on the numbers of jobs created by the dispensation, more so when the BJP had vowed to create 50,000 jobs in the state. “Instead of creating employment opportunities, the BJP has left over a lakh and half people on the roads due to the shut down of the mining operations’, he said, adding “all these things will expose the BJP hollow”.
Dr Chella recalled that the people of Goa had given a mandate for the Congress party in the 2017 election by rejecting the BJP in the husting. “Even though the Congress was given the people’s mandate, the BJP formed the government. “We were misled by some individuals. We trusted certain individuals, but they misled us and went to support the BJP”, he said.
When The Goan asked whether the Congress is ready to seek the support of these individuals, who went with the BJP post-election result, Dr Chella shot back “in politics, arithmetic plays a major role. The Congress party has now 16 MLAs in the 40-member House. We need the support of five more MLAs to form the government”.
When specifically asked whether the Congress would prefer to take the support of the Goa Forward Party or the MGP to form the alternate government, Dr Chella said avoided a straight-forward answer, but said the Congress need five more MLAs for a simple majority to form the government.
On the exercise initiated by the party to find a successor to outgoing GPCC Chief Shantaram Naik, Dr Chella said he has given an audience to all the party leaders and workers. “I have not shortlisted any names. My brief was not to shortlist names for the top post. I have taken the views and opinions of all the people and would submit a report to the party President Rahul Gandhi for a decision”,
he said.
