Trouble erupted within the Congress on Tuesday as party MLAs from Goa were reportedly heard arguing with senior leader Digvijaya Singh, who is also the party's general secretary in the state, over poor leadership skills that were on display as the Congress failed to act fast enough to gather the support of regional parties to form the government in Goa.
Also read: Goa government formation by BJP: Supreme Court orders floor test on March 16 over Congress petition
The Congress, which won 17 seats in the 40-seat Assembly, needed the support of regional parties to add only four seats so that they could stake claim to form the government in the state. However, they failed to do so. According to NDTV, at least three MLAs have threatened to quit the party allegedly due to mismanagement on the part of the party's senior leaders.
When asked whether the party required changes in leadership, Satyavrat Chaturvedi of the Congress told ANI: "Ab karne se bhi kya hoga, jab karna chahiye tha tab kiya nahi (What will happen if they make changes now ? They didn't do it when it was required)."
Vishwajit Rane, Congress MLA from Goa, who was also seen as a frontrunner for chief minister, told NDTV that "there was total mismanagement by the leadership." He added that the party could not form the government in Goa despite having won 17 seats "because of foolishness of our leaders."
Rane had walked out of the legislature meeting with Singh on Tuesday and also hinted that he was thinking of quitting the party. "A lot of thoughts are coming in my mind. Sometimes I just feel that I am in the wrong party. There is a lot of pressure on me by all my MLAs supporting me to act but I am only holding back because of my leader Mrs Sonia Gandhi."
Congress stages walkout from Lok Sabha:
Members of the Congress party and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday over the formation of the government in Goa and Manipur. The Congress party had also submitted an adjournment motion notice in the Lower House of Parliament over the issue.
According to media reports, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge moved the adjournment motion along with other party MPs seeking to raise the issue and demand a discussion on it. The Congress has accused the BJP of going against the law and forming the government in Goa and Manipur claiming that they are the single largest party in both states.
Digvijaya Singh also told the media the Congress will meet Goa Governor Mridula Sinha at 1:30 pm on Tuesday. "She said she will meet us at 1:30 pm, though we wished that she should've met us earlier," Singh said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad lashed out at the Congress over the allegations. "Congress needs to introspect itself.... they have to realise that they have been cleared away from the country.. We have written to Governor... does any other party has higher seats than BJP? ..Governor will take the decision," he was quoted by CNN-News18 as saying.
Manohar Parrikar will be sworn in as the chief minister of Goa at 5 pm on Tuesday.
