Explained: The crisis in the Goa Congress that led to the sacking of Michael Lobo as Leader of Opposition

Things are not going well for the Congress in Goa.

The Grand Old Party was staring at a split in Goa after six of its 11 MLAs went incommunicado on Sunday. On the same day, it also dismissed Michael Lobo as the Leader of the Opposition in the Goa Assembly for allegedly trying to engineer defections in collaboration with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The political developments in the coastal state, led to party president Sonia Gandhi asking MP Mukul Wasnik to rush there and oversee the situation.

Hon'ble Congress President has asked Shri @MukulWasnik, MP to rush to Goa to oversee latest political developments in the state.

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 10, 2022

So, what exactly is going on? What is happening in Goa? We take a closer look and provide you with all the answers.

MLAs switching sides?

The buzz of a defection started making rounds on Saturday when the Congress called for a meeting of its MLAs ahead of the commencement of the two-week Budget Session.

According to MLA Aleixo Sequeira, seven MLAs were present at the “courtesy meeting”. But Digambar Kamat, skipped the meeting.

Besides Kamat, Saligao MLA Kedar Naik, Siolim MLA and Lobo’s wife Delilah Lobo, Nuvem MLA Alexio Sequeira and Cumbharjua legislator Rajesh Phaldessai also stayed away from the meet.

In the first sign that the party was fighting to stave off a defection, former Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar alleged that party MLAs were offered Rs 40 crore to join the BJP.

Chodankar claimed that calls had been made to Congress legislators by industrialists and the coal mafia. He, however, said that he was confident that the Congress MLAs wouldn't be lured away. “

“Our MLAs aren’t saleable commodities. These are the very people who had taken an oath before God that they wouldn't defect. I am sure they won’t fool the gods. If they still do that, people will teach them a lesson. Most of those who had defected earlier were defeated by the people,” Chodankar was quoted as telling Times of India.

Sacking Michael Lobo

Later, on Sunday, the party’s Goa in-charge, Dinesh Gundu Rao held a presser and announced that Michael Lobo was being dismissed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Goa Assembly for alleged conspiracy to engineer defections.

At the press conference, Rao said a “conspiracy was hatched by some of our own leaders with the BJP” to weaken the party and “engineer defections”. “This conspiracy was led by two of our own leaders — LoP Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat.”

“Michael Lobo immediately removed from the position of Leader of Opposition of Goa," Rao said, adding that a new leader will be elected. “Whatever action has to be taken by law against this kind of defection and anti-party work, will follow. Let’s see how many people will stay/move. Five of our MLAs are here, we’re in touch with some more MLAs and they’ll be along with us,” he claimed.

Rao added, “Both these people had been working in total coordination with BJP. One person — Digambar Kamat — did it to safeguard his own skin because so many cases are against him and the other person — Michael Lobo — for the sake of power and position. BJP wants to finish the Opposition.”

Rao alleged that the Congress legislators had been offered huge amounts of money, but their six MLAs had stood firm.

BJP Wanted A Two-Third Split
Proud that our MLAs have resisted and remained with us. They were offered huge amounts of money to defect. pic.twitter.com/NQmuiG34wX

— Goa Congress (@INCGoa) July 10, 2022

BJP reacts

The BJP dismissed all rumours of engineering a defection.

State BJP president Sadanand Tanavade was quoted as telling India Today that the Congress is “making baseless allegations about MLAs being approached and offered money”.

“This is what they have been doing all along, and there is no substance to these things. Goa BJP has nothing to do with the confusion in Congress and we haven’t heard anything from our party in this regard,” he added.

Shortly after Lobo was dismissed, his wife, Delilah Lobo, was seen leaving Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant’s residence. When asked about the meet, BJP leader Pramod Sawant said that as CM many people came to visit him.

Panaji | On being asked if Congress MLAs came to meet him, Goa CM Pramod Sawant said that "as CM, many people come to meet me. Tomorrow is Assembly, people came to meet me regarding that. I am busy with my assembly work... Why will I comment on issues related to other parties?" pic.twitter.com/NHEysEAGeN

— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2022

Reminder of 2019 defection

The ongoing crisis in the Goa unit of the Congress is similar to what happened in 2019 and incidentally, unfolded on the third anniversary of when 10 Congress MLAs formed a separate faction and switched over to the BJP back in 2019.

On 10 July 2019, the Congress suffered a major jolt when 10 of its 15 legislators — two-thirds — defected to the BJP in Goa.

Then Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Chandrakant Kavlekar, had led the breakaway group and merged with the ruling BJP. The MLAs who joined the BJP along with Kavlekar were Atanasio Monserratte, Jeniffer Monserratte, Francis Silveira, Philip Nery Rodrigues, Cleaofacio Dias, Wilfred D’Sa, Nilkant Halarnkar, Isidor Fernandes and Antonio Fernandes.

Kavlekar had then said he and the other MLAs decided to join the BJP as development works in their constituencies were suffering as they were in opposition.

“We have seen Sawant’s working style. He is working for the progress of the state. We decided to join hands with him. Being in the opposition, our development works were also suffering,” Kavlekar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

With inputs from agencies

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