NCP: Let Mickky be legislature leader

NCP: Let Mickky be legislature leader
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, DEC 31 
After an unsuccessful attempt at inducting Benaulim legislator Mickky Pacheco as minister into the State cabinet, the Nationalist Congress Party has written a letter to the Goa legislative assembly Speaker Pratapsing Rane to remove Jose Philip D’Souza and Nilkant Halarnkar as leader of legislature wing and chief whip of the party, respectively.
Top party sources disclosed National General Secretary of the party Peethambaram Master wrote the letter to the speaker asking him to assign both designations (leader of legislature wing and chief whip) to Pacheco.   
Sources believe that this may be a new move of the party to checkmate both D’Souza and Halarnkar who are yet to make up their minds to resign. Legal experts say many probabilities will arise out of this letter. The speaker is bound to accept the letter, but in the end the decision in the matter vests with him, they stated.
When contacted D’Souza said he knew about the letter via a message and he didn’t know anything else. “I haven’t heard anything from any of the top national leaders and it is not right for me to say anything,” he mentioned.
Those in the party feel this political drama is denting the party’s image in the State. Chief spokesperson Trajano D’Mello too echoed similar views in a letter to the State President Surendra Sirsat, who received some tongue lashing from the former. 
The party’s general secretary (administration) Rajan Ghate on Friday ridiculed D’Mello for disclosing the contents of his letter to the press. He accused D’Mello and Salim Sayyed, who also signed the letter, of the maligning the image of the party in Goa.