G7 down, but not out!

PANJIM, MARCH 22
The gods seemed to be once again with Chief Minister Digambar Kamat! He got a reprieve last night after the Congress-NCP Coordination Committee meeting in Mumbai decided for a status quo till March 30 as the attempted coup of G7 failed.
Kamat who has seen quite a few attempted coups since he took over the reins of State in June 2007, had thanked the gods for saving his Government in the past.
At the end of the Sunday meeting which ended around midnight at Hyatt, Mumbai, the G7 appeared to have suffered a setback. It was not clear whether some NCP’s central leaders had plans which his own Goa MLAs were not aware of. Most of those who were in Mumbai returned to Goa by a charter flight last night itself, sources said.
Until Saturday night, G7 members had exuded confidence that they would make PWD Minister Churchill Alemao and the chief minister get a taste of the mosquito bite while referring to the nasty remark of the Salcete heavyweight two days earlier.
The Congress leadership seemed to have convinced the NCP that they couldn’t afford to rock the boat as they were pre-poll partners and unlike the MGP and others, had not come together in the post-poll period for sharing power.
Secondly, what went against G7 is that they were not united, sources said. Health Minister, according to sources, independently went ahead and held deliberations with Praful Patel, central leader of NCP and union minister for civil aviation. This meeting apparently, was to find an alternate leader in the event of any decision to replace Kamat as CM.
It is learnt that there was no unanimity among the G7 members whether Pratapsing Rane should be the alternative.
Under the pretext of preventing a financial crisis, the committee decided to meet again on March 31 in Mumbai to resolve the pending issues.
However, according to G7 sources, nothing is over yet.
There’s no change in their demands, a source said adding that they would not relent if unresolved.
G7 seems to have zeroed down on Churchill Alemao. They want his PWD portfolio to be removed if not bifurcated. Similarly, they want Ravi Naik to be relieved of Home portfolio. Congress sources also say that Cabinet reshuffle or portfolio change is on cards. Even on the issue of leadership change, it is to be seen what decision the coordination committee will taken on March 31 and how the G7 will react to it.