DAC Chairman John Fernandes has appointed Pratima Coutinho as the convenor of the committee that has five members – Rane, Deshprabhu, Akbar Mulha, Sunil Khavtankar and Waman Chodankar. “This arrangement is in place until further order,” the press note released by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee reads.
The sudden decision of the chairman is likely to further intensify the internal fights between Deshprabhu and Fernandes, who have been at loggerheads for quite some time now. Deshprabhu was also recently removed from the post of party spokesperson along with three others.
When contacted, Fernandes said that the decision is taken after it was observed that Deshprabhu is not interested in performing his duty as he skipped the crucial meeting of the committee held on Wednesday. “AICC had given its consent to the names suggested by me to make up the committee. It was me who had appointed Deshprabhu as convenor,” he added.
On the other hand Deshprabhu expressed happiness and satisfaction over the Chairman’s decision stating that “He (Fernandes) has exercised his prerogative to appoint a person of his choice and remove me from the post.” The Congress leader said that he could not attend the meeting on Wednesday due to prior-appointments.
Deshprabhu however said that the matter would not be raised before the party high command as he is still the member of the committee. According to reliable sources, the party high command is highly upset with the functioning of the Pradesh Congress Committee in Goa.
