The plea will seek disqualification of Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Sankalp Amonkar, Aleixo Sequeira, Rodolfo Fernandes, Rajesh Phal Desai and Kedar Naik. As per the law, the petitions will be first presented to the Assembly Speaker. The Speaker, as per the instructions given by Supreme Court in the Manipur disqualification case, will have to take a decision within 90 days. These MLAs formed a separate group which was approved by the Speaker. Needless to say that the Congress’ petition will be dismissed. However, the party will have to complete these formalities before beginning with the court battle. The lawsuits against Chandrakant Kavlekar, Isidore Fernandes, Nilkanth Halarnkar, Atanasio Monserrate, Jennifer Monserrate, Antonio Fernandes, Francis Silveira, Clafasio Dias, Wilfred D’Sa, Felipe Nery Rodrigues as well as Manohar Ajgaonkar and Deepak Pawaskar who defected to BJP, are still pending in the Supreme Court.
These MLAs were not disqualified out of retrospective effect and hence, it’s uncertain when the new petition will reach the Apex court again. And even if these MLAs are disqualified now, will it matter? This drama of making paper horses dance does not hold any significance. The truth is the local leadership lacks a definite programme to revive the Congress. The former and current State president of the party showed up at different venues during the ongoing mass movement of Bharat Jodo Yatra, which exposed the lack of unity within the party.
The Congress faces a severe question of existence and so, they must act wisely regarding their expenditure of money as well as time when it comes to teaching lessons to their former MLAs who betrayed them. If Congress fails to show that wisdom then their diminished strength will be exposed during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There is scope for opposition parties to grow in the State. However, it is difficult to predict who is capable enough to claim it. Goa Forward Party’s strength has gone down from three to one, AAP has two MLAs, RG has one and nobody knows for sure whether Trinamool will be back in the fray.
Not long ago, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had met the State executives in an attempt to give the party a push, even as the Congress faces challenges from other parties as well. While the BJP has further secured its voter base, Congress will have to struggle even more to retain the percentage of their votes. However, the party does not seem to have prepared to face the crisis. Despite being well aware of the fact that the general elections are not too far away, Congress leaders have limited themselves to only publish press releases instead of determining potential candidates. The Congress should shoulder the responsibility to raise people’s questions.
The people through the polls have given them the responsibility to act as an able party of opposition. Although eight of their MLAs have left the party, they still have three with them and nobody has stopped them from raiseing burning issues. And if at all the Congress leaders have accepted that nothing will ever change, then they should announce it publicly.
Everyone has seen the dull impact they made when they had the post of the leader of opposition and hence the Congress must acknowledge that people will not be attracted towards them if they don’t show it through their performance. As it is evident that the Congress MLAs can be easily convinced to change sides, the other competitor parties will use this against Congress and appeal to the people to not vote for the party. The local Congress leadership will not only have to retain the 25% vote-share but will also have to work towards increasing that number.
The party will have to inquire about the difficulties faced by the citizens in its their day-to-day life and must take up cudgels on their behalf. The party should work in a way that people across the state – from Canacona to Pernem – will take note of its existence. But if the Congress the stresses only on the disqualification issue till the next polls arrive, their situation will be like a paper boat sinking in rainwater.
