VASCO: With a group of barge owners questioning the legality of the election of the executive committee of Goa Barge Owners Association (GBOA), the association is heading for a major internal clash. However, the new committee has maintained that that the election process was duly followed.
Addressing a press conference in Vasco on Saturday afternoon, a rebel group of GBOA members claimed that during the annual general body meeting held on September 30, elections for executive committee for 2016-17 were held, but in unconstitutional manner as the association did not appoint nomination committee required to complete the election process under clause 31(e) of the constitution and as the elections were held under the chairmanship of the President Atul Jadhav, the same should cannot be allowed under the constitution.
“It is well planned modus operandi; as earlier, the president and his coterie removed the members from their memberships on the pretext of not joining the rotation system,” said GBOA member Ashok Deshprabhu.
Another member Chandrakant Gawas said, “The President Atul Jadhav took advantage of removal of members and called for AGM on September 30 to hold the elections as he wanted to block the eligible candidates to file nominations and or to send their nominations for elections. Also the due date of elections (June 30 2016), the president managed to get memorandum from some of the members seeking their support to continue along with his committee for further period of three months (till September 30), though some members who were not party to the said memorandum had raised their objections.”
Gawas claimed that the members who were deprived intentionally by the president “are demanding action against the president and this team including their removal from the office with immediate effect and barring them to contest in near future.”
Meanwhile, refuting the allegations leveled by the rebel group, President Atul Jadhav said, “Though the elections for executive committee for 2016-17 was due on June 30, since 65 members made representation seeking postponement of the elections till September 30, it was heeded to.”
He said that, as per rule, the election notice was issued on September 16 inviting nominations. “However, we received only seven nominations (four were rejected as they had not paid association fees) whom we declared elected as new committee members,” he added.
On the rotation system, Jadhav said, “we have now amended the constitution and this issue has already been resolved.”
