Cuncolim Block president shown the door
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee’s abrupt replacement of block presidents in some of the constituencies down South has triggered resentment amongst Congressmen, with many questioning what they termed as “high handed” decision aimed at mollifying certain leaders by ignoring grass root workers.
Three days after ousted Benaulim Congress Block President Edwin Barretto questioned the rationale behind his abrupt replacement, some of the Congress workers from Cuncolim have hit out at the GPCC chief Subhash Shirodkar for appointing former minister, Joaquim Alemao’s PA Assis Norohna as the new Cuncolim block president.
In fact, former Cuncolim Youth Congress president Paresh Desai warned that the Congress workers would be forced not to work for the party candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls if the party leadership fails to do a re-think on Norohna’s appointment as the block president.
Referring to GPCC chief’s claims that the new Cuncolim block president has been appointed at the instance of former Cuncolim MLA Joaquim Alemao, Paresh demanded to know how the party leadership could take the decision without consulting the party workers. He said that Joaquim Alemao is neither a MLA nor a member of the Cuncolim Block and warned that Shirodkar should do a re-think on the decision, threatening that party workers would not allow Norohna to share the Cuncolim Congress platform.
He sought to know how the Congress leadership has accepted Joaquim Alemao’s recommendation when the former Cuncolim MLA has not stepped into the constituency after his electoral defeat. And, he said the Congress workers this time would demand that the party leadership field a candidate from Cuncolim constituency itself instead of giving the ticket to outsiders.
Resentment is also brewing in Vasco constituency, wherein block President Nitin Chopdekar has been shown the door by the GPCC chief. In fact, Chopdekar and ousted Benaulim Block Congress chief Edwin Barretto are planning to take up the matter with the Congress High Command next week.
A Congress worker demanded to know how the leadership could take decisions to abruptly replace Block presidents without consulting the workers.
