all India Congress Committee Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao termed the BJP’s attempt to bring two-thirds of the Congress MLAs into its fold as a “flop Operation Kamala”.
“In this process, we know who are our loyalists and who are the defectors,” Rao said, adding that the BJP once again tried to accelerate, but failed miserably.
Rao exclusively told News18 how Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo, two MLAs who are said to have led the rebellion within the Congress, are conspiring and persuading other Congress MLAs to defect. are trying.
“Despite all the pressure, our young and newly elected first time MLAs are stuck together. This conspiracy has been going on for a month, but our MLAs have caught themselves.
Rao alleged that legislators from all sections, including the mining, coal and industry lobbies, have been put under tremendous pressure. He confirmed to News18 that the Congress has 7 MLAs while four others – Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Digambar Kamat and Kedar Naik – are no longer with the party.
“It is a shame how the BJP has stooped down to use money power and greed for ministries,” Rao said.
Recently drawing a parallel to the way the BJP drew up a similar split in Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the Goa in-charge said the stakes were so high that some of their MLAs offered bribes of up to Rs 20 crore to defect. was going
Terming it as a failed attempt of the BJP to defeat the Congress, Rao said that the BJP will not stop till they see the end of the Congress, rather they will fight till the end.
“Their one-point agenda is to dismantle the Congress. They will not do this to you or any other opposition party. Their fight is with the Congress and it ensures that it comes to an end. They want to ensure an opposition-free country or Goa for that matter, but it will not be accomplished as Congress is still a strong party with a loyal cadre. In India, it will take another 20 years to build a strong opposition party and hence the BJP is looking for an opportunity to eliminate the opposition,” the leader added.
“The BJP’s Operation Kamala has now failed. They tried but did not succeed,” Rao said. He pointed out that like in Maharashtra, the BJP had planned to split the party by two-thirds and increase their numbers from 25 to 33.
“The BJP will then become 33 out of 40 in the assembly and they can become an opposition-free state,” he said.
He also pointed out that BJP leaders reaching out to Congress MLAs not only talked about monetary gains, but also threatened raids by the Enforcement Directorate and the IT department.
News18 in its earlier report had mentioned that Rao had met Kamat on Saturday night at his residence, where he told him that he was “hurt” and that he was still a Congress MLA.
Rao answered counter questions on this. “What is he upset about? Didn’t he call our MLAs and claim that Congress is over? Wasn’t it the Congress that made him the chief minister and he later held this seat for a full five years? After the electoral defeat The Congress also offered him the PCC president’s post. He was the one who refused to say that he wanted to take a back seat and now claims he was hurt?
Attacking Kamat for being the man who led the Congress’s “pledge of allegiance”, the AICC official called him an outright “bearer”.
Accusing Kamat of being the mastermind behind the defection, Rao also said that Mukul Wasnik, who was taken to Goa after deliberations, would let the Congress decide on the next course of action in view of this fresh setback.
The weekend witnessed a high-octane political drama, with reports circulating that several Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Kamat, would join the BJP. It all started when Rao called a meeting of newly elected Congress MLAs ahead of the Goa Assembly session on Monday.
At first, only one MLA came to the hotel in South Goa, but within a few hours, others started trickling in when rumor mongers said that eight Congress MLAs had jumped off the ship. The number increased from one to five with Kamat and Michael Lobo absent till 5 pm on Sunday.
Rao confirmed the numbers after addressing the media in Goa, which continued to support the Congress, which was joined by Yuri Alemao, Anton D’Esta, Rodolfo Fernandes, Sankalp Amonkar and later Rajesh Faldesai. As the controversy broke out on Sunday, Lobo was removed from the post of Leader of the Opposition.
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