Team Herald
KOLKATA: Former Chief Minister of Goa, Luizinho Faleiro, who resigned from the Congress on Monday, and the first lot of Goan leaders and organisation men, who will join the Trinamool Congress, arrived to a rousing reception at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on Tuesday.
Two senior ministers of Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, including Sujit Bose and Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen along with other TMC members, welcomed Faleiro, former MGP MLA Lavoo Mamledar and just resigned members of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee including general secretaries Vijay Pai and Yatish Naik and secretary Mario Pinto and members of Goa’s civic and literary society and professionals.
Rajendra Kakodkar, RTI activist and environmentalist, Sahitya Academy Award-winning Konkani writer N Shivdas, and young firebrand lawyer from Velim Adv Antonio Clovis da Costa, president of the South Goa Advocates’ Association, also arrived in Kolkata with Faleiro and will join the TMC on Wednesday.
Speaking to Herald, Mamledar said, “We were honoured with a grand reception. It showed the class and culture of TMC. We are looking forward to joining the TMC, which has already drawn important leaders and members of civil society and I do know that hundreds will join the party soon at various levels, starting from tomorrow.”
There was a massive media contingent at the airport. The buzz around TMC’s entry into Goan electoral politics with its full strength has drawn the attention on the local media. Faleiro, due to his extensive work as the AICC in charge of North East, is a known name in Kolkata, the gateway to the North-Eastern Regions.
Said Yatish Naik, “A Goan leader recognised for his services at the national level was welcomed by the media in Kolkata.”
The formal joining of the Goa team will take place on Wednesday in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, followed by a press conference to be addressed by Faleiro.
Later Faleiro met Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress MP and the nephew of Mamata Banerjee, and discussed the modalities of the Goa elections. Speaking to Herald, Faleiro said, “Mr Banerjee said he had listened to every word of my press conference which I addressed in Goa on Monday after I resigned as MLA and from the party and appreciated my narrative of the TMC playing the role of a unifying force against the ruling BJP.”
“I am further energised after coming to Kolkata to join the TMC. Mamata Banerjee is the only leader in the country who can singlehandedly challenge the divisive forces that are breaking the nation,” he added.
After their return, the process of structuring and forming the Goa unit of the party will commence after the initial team moves into the party headquarters of Goa in Panjim.
While Wednesday will be the beginning of Faleiro’s new innings in his quest to bring a new dawn to Goa, he looked back at the journey of his life in the Congress in a heartfelt note to the people of his constituency Navelim, after his resignation as MLA and from the party. He ended the note in this manner, “Now, in the best interest of Goa, which has given me everything, I wish to tender my resignation as MLA to fight the divisive forces that have been threatening to tear apart my state and nation. I am a fighter, and I will fight till the end to ensure a better future for my people. So, I have taken this decisive step to dedicate my efforts effectively for the betterment of Goa. I am committed to preserving the ideals and founding principles of the INC that I have espoused throughout my life. The dream is to bring the divided Congress family, which has always played a unifying role in the history of this country, back together to fight the forces of destruction. However, my commitment to Goa is paramount and I must take this step so that my dream to bring a new dawn for Goa can be realised. I am sincerely grateful for the trust and faith you have given me over the years, and I hope to continue to hold your support as I take on this next step in our journey to fight for the Goa we all deserve.”
