TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Twenty members of the local NCP including three vice presidents resigned en masse protesting against the appointment of Advocate Suhas Walavaikar as the president of the party’s Goa state branch by its supremo Sharad Pawar.
At a meeting led late last night the decision was taken after deliberations as members felt that what was done was unfair to other members and party leaders who had been loyal to the party for a long time.
“The appointment of the new president Volvoikar is a disgrace to the party and his credentials are suspect,” Jose Philip D’ Souza, senior vice president told media today, confirming the move.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state unit president Nilkant Halarnkar had faxed his resignation from the post to Pawar recently and the post of president was vacant for more than a month. Halarnkar had been appointed as NCP state unit president in February 2013.
He had told media at the time of this resignation, that the high command was not backing the growth of the party in the state.
He had pointed out that there was no central observer for Goa, the NCP did not contest the Lok Sabha elections, nor the Panjim by-elections nor the Zilla Panchayat elections.
Since then Bhaskar Rao Jadhav, senior leader from Maharashtra, had been appointed as observer and had visited the state recently.
“The party high command has not taken anyone in confidence before deciding on the president’s appointment and that too to someone who is not even a primary member of NCP. No point in continuing in such a party,” Bryan Pegado, secretary of the committee told media, questioning the credentials of the newly appointed president and questioning the logic when there were senior people in the state.
According to NCP sources, since Jose Philip was senior everybody thought he would be selected. They also say that the candidature of the party was being actively pushed by NCP leader from Porvorim Fermina Kaunte.
Walavaikar is supposed to take charge on April 14 at 11 am. This will be followed by a joint meeting of all the office bearers, state executive committee, district committee, block committee, frontal organization and the cells of Goa state NCP unit at the NCP head office in Panjim.
