NHTimes

Panaji, Jan 14: The political activities aimed at seeking change in the leadership of the Congress-led government headed by Mr Digambar Kamat continued for the second consecutive day on Wednesday with more Congress legislators joining their colleagues and the group of non-Congress MLAs, in the ruling coalition.

The Congress legislators opposed to the Chief Minister have now come out in the open against his leadership and said that they would formally make a demand for change in the state leadership on Thursday.

Pandurang Madkaikar, one of the MLAs in the group of the Congress legislators that has been holding meetings to seek change in leadership, told ‘The Navhind Times’ late on Wednesday evening that majority of the Congress MLAs were against Mr Kamat and would make a formal demand on Thursday and also apprise the party high command on the need to change the leadership.

Even as the activities to seek replacement of the Chief Minister continued throughout the day, Mr Kamat who is in New Delhi to attend a meeting called by the Union Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, told ‘The Navhind Times’ late Wednesday evening that he was not aware of any move to seek his removal from the post.

The Congress and the non-Congress MLAs held several meetings to chalk out the detailed programme to convince the Congress high command on the need for change in leadership of the government so that a responsive leader takes charge of the state administration and ensures all-round development of the state.

Sources within the group of the Congress said that they want a change in leadership because they have not been getting enough support for the development of their constituencies and with more than half of their term already gone they want to make up for the ‘lapses’ as regards to development of their constituencies.

They said that they had nothing personal against Mr Kamat but his “failure” to take decisions faster was costing them their plans to develop their constituencies, which could go against them in the next elections whenever they are held. With some of the Congress MLAs away from the state, the activities to seek change are expected to gain momentum when they arrive in Goa on Thursday, they added.

Meanwhile, the president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Subhash Shirodkar, now in New Delhi, also said that he was not aware of any development in the state to seek change in leadership. He said that even if the Congressmen were behind any move to seek change in leadership, they were with the party and would remain Congressmen. Mr Shirodkar said that he was likely to meet senior leaders of the Congress party at the Centre and apprise them of the party affairs in the state. He also said that he would broach about differences expressed openly by the party legislators against one another publicly, to the central leaders of the party. He denied that there was any threat to the government.

The All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Goa desk, Mr B K Hariprasad told ‘The Navhind Times’ that no one has so far approached him or the central leadership of the party seeking change in the state leadership. He also denied any knowledge of any movement against the Chief Minister.

Hariprasad, however, admitted that he met the Chief Minister and the GPCC president and discussed party matters with them. He denied that the issue of leadership was discussed at the meeting as no demand has been made so far by any one. Responding to a query whether he would be visiting the state to sort out the differences within the party MLAs and others supporting the Congress-led government, he said that that would not happen immediately. He went on to add that since he was busy with the party matters in Gujarat he would not be able to come to Goa at least till the end of the next week.