PANJIM: All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday made it clear that the party will not re-admit defectors and appealed to the people to teach the turncoats a lesson at the hustings.
Asked whether there was a possibility of the 10 rebel MLAs who quit the party and joined the ruling BJP in July 2019 returning to the party ahead of the ensuing Assembly elections, Rao said, “When a political party is using all kinds of unethical means, there would be some people who would yield to that (offer from opposition party to join it). But people of Goa would have to teach them a lesson. I will request people of Goa to teach these defectors a lesson. This time we would be doubly careful as we know what the BJP is capable of.”
When asked what would be the Congress party’s stand, if it forges a pre-poll alliance with parties that are inducing rebel MLAs and give them tickets to contest elections, Rao said that it was a hypothetical question.
Rao said that unlike in the past the party will declare the names of its candidates as early as possible so that he/she starts the campaign early.
The AICC in-charge said that the party reorganisation process is on and the decision to replace the State party president will be taken by the high command. “Whatever is in the interest of the party will be decided based upon all the feedback I have received,” he said.
When it was brought to his notice that there was instability within the party organisation over the issue of replacing the GPCC president, Rao said, “There is some amount of confusion. Some people are saying there could be a change and some people are saying that the president should remain. That happens in politics. We will take everybody’s opinion and come to a final decision.”
When his attention was drawn to the scuffle between the office-bearers, Rao said that indiscipline will not be tolerated. He said that the office-bearers going to the media will not be tolerated and they will face stern disciplinary action in future.
