Team Herald
PANJIM: Former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro, who resigned as MLA and also from the primary membership of the Congress party on Monday, hinted that he will join the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) within the next few days.
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Speaking to the media, Faleiro praised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and called her a ‘street fighter’.
Faleiro said the State is going through difficult times and it needs street fighters like Mamata Banerjee, who are also on the same wavelength, same party ideology, policies, principles and programmes.
Faleiro, who was considered to be close to the Gandhi family, said only Banerjee could challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Calling himself a Congressman, Faleiro said he would like to have a larger picture of all the Congress parties coming together and fighting the next elections.
“Goa needs a credible alternative and my quitting as MLA is a call for unification of the Congress family,” he said, appealing to the people of Goa to defeat divisive forces and to bring a new dawn in the State.
When pressed for his next plan of action, in the light of speculation that he would join TMC, the former Chief Minister said he would join the party in a couple of days.
“I will decide whether I will contest the next Assembly elections, but definitely I will lead a movement in Goa and in the country,” he said, adding, “My dream is to bring the divided Congress family that has always played a unifying role in the history of this country to fight the forces of destruction.”
Earlier, in the afternoon Faleiro along with four Congress office-bearers met Speaker Rajesh Patnekar at the Goa Assembly Complex, Porvorim and submitted his resignation as MLA.
Faleiro later told the media that he had resigned as MLA to strengthen the Congress family both, at the State-level and the national-level.
“I belong to the Congress family and I will always be in the Congress party. I have resigned as MLA so that my dream to build, consolidate, strengthen and unify Congress party at the State-level and the national-level is
fulfilled. I will work hard for it,” he said.
Stating that Congress is divided, Faleiro said once the family is divided it becomes weak. Last year the Congress lost 187 MLAs as they switched sides. “I have decided to see that we work hard and give a strong opposition to the present dispensation in Goa and at the Centre. I have not left Congress. Philosophy, ideology, principles and programme of Congress will be always near and dear to me.”
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Speaker accept’s resignation
Goa Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar said he has accepted Faleiro’s resignation and sent it to issue a notification.
When asked whether Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat would lose his official leader status since the strength of the Congress party has been reduced to four following Faleiro’s resignation, Patnekar said that he was not sure of this technicality and that he would check it. However, it is learnt that it is up to the Leader of the House – Chief Minister or Speaker – to decide on granting Opposition Leader’s status.
