Sonia Gandhi to be consulted by troubled Goa Congress
By IANSTuesday, April 6, 2010
PANAJI - The ruling Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Goa will consult Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on finding a solution to the threat facing their government after a group of seven ruling MLAs including five ministers openly voiced dissent, a minister said Tuesday.
A cabinet meeting which was called Tuesday morning to discuss a possible dissolution of the state legislature, however turned out to be a damp squib, with the cabinet only approving a sports policy for the state.
NCP legislature party leader Jose Phillip D’Souza said that dissolution would be an unnecessary step.
“Why talk about dissolution? Our high command is meeting with Sonia Gandhi later tonight. They will discuss and find a solution. We have placed our demands before them,” D’Souza said.
Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao said: “The cabinet was called today for taking a decision on the dissolution of the house. Since the G-7 (group of 7 disgruntled legislators) came running, we decided against it.”
The G-7 members, who comprise three NCP legislators, two MLAs from the regional Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party (MGP) and two other legislators, were in Mumbai late Monday night to meet NCP leader Praful Patel, in a bid to leverage with the Congress high command to resolve the imbroglio.
Tuesday’s cabinet meeting which lasted 15 minutes was held at the state secretariat, with the media banned from entering the premises.
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat refused to speak to the media with regards to the goings on in the cabinet meeting.
Neither the G-7, nor the Congress leadership have come on record to specify the nature of “demands” put forth by the dissenting group, which is threatening to tear apart the coalition.
Off record however, Congress leaders suggest that inability of Digambar Kamat, also the minister for mines, to clear several mining leases obtained by a minister in the G-7 in time before a ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) moratorium on mining clearances in Goa, could be one of the ‘reasons’.
“These new mining leases are now not operational because of the moratorium imposed by MoEF,” sources said.
Congress leaders also suggest that a mega land deal being pushed by a union minister belonging to the NCP, which was being blockaded by Kamat was the reason behind the political turbulence.
Goa’s 40-member unicameral legislature comprises 18 legislators from the Congress, 14 of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), NCP (3), MGP (2), unattached United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) (1) and two independent legislators. The ruling coalition comprises Congress, NCP, MGP, UGDP and one independent.
