PANAJI
Two years after it fell victim to the malaise of political defections, the Congress in Goa held protest in constituencies of the eight MLAs who ditched the party where top leaders including Leader of Opposition (LoP) Yuri Alemao, MLA Carlos Alvares-Ferreira and others denounced it as a "political and social crime" while attacking the BJP for promoting it.
“Defection is a political and social crime and BJP is promoting it to usurp power," Alemao said, at a protest in Calangute which is represented by Michael Lobo who led the eight MLAs to cross over to the saffron fold.
Alemao was also critical of Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar for failing to adjudicate and dispose the disqualification petitions in 90 days as prescribed by the Supreme Court of India.
"We condemn the BJP’s strategy of promoting defection,” Alemao said, adding that he was confident that the Goan people will show all the eight defecting MLAs the door at the 2027 assembly election.
In Margao, Congress leaders and workers took a pledge to teach all the eight defectors a lesson in the 2027 Assembly election by defeating them.
They cautioned people of Goa to beware of defectors, saying the eight are part of the nexus with mafias that promotes corruption, defection and sale of land.
Effigies of the eight defectors were later burnt as they vowed to teach them a lesson in the coming election.
Addressing media, MLA Altone D’Costa said he along with Yuri and MLA Carlos Alvares stayed back in the party because of certain principles. “I was given the Congress ticket in the 2022 Assembly and my principle demands that I should be grateful and loyal to the party. We have stayed back with the Congress because of the party’s ideology”, he added.
South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes went hammer and thongs against Cong-turned-BJP Margao MLA Digambar Kamat saying the MLA betrayed the very party which had made him the Chief Minister to rule Goa for five years.
Youth leader, Prabhav Naik also slammed Kamat for putting Madganvkars to shame by murdering democracy and the Constitution of India, saying his defection was only for self promotion.
