Digvijaya responsible for Congress not coming to power in Goa: Faleiro

Former Goa Chief Minister and Congress MLA Luizinho Faleiro on Tuesday blamed former AICC general secretary in-charge of Goa, Digvijaya Singh for the inability of the party to form a government in the state in 2017.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Faleiro said it was Singh who had stopped him as the state Congress president and elected MLA from submitting a letter to the Goa Governor Dr. Mridula Sinha in March 2017, for formation of a Congress-led alliance government.

"When Digvijaya Singh did not allow, I, as a protest, resigned from the PCC, asked them to accept my resignation as a Pradesh Congress President," Faleiro told reporters while speaking at a government function in his assembly constituency of Navelim.

Faleiro currently oversees organisational and political affairs in the seven northeastern states on behalf of the All India Congress Committee.

In March 2017, the Congress had failed to stake its first claim to form government, despite emerging as the single largest party in the polls.

While the Congress' failure was partly due to swift movements by the BJP, especially Union Minister for Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, the serial in-fighting between the Congress ranks for the post of CM, is also believed to have nipped the party's bid to form power in the bud.

Faleiro also slighted the Congress unit in Goa, for not doing enough to make a bid for power in the coastal state, over the last two years.

"They (Goa Congress leaders) had promised that they will form the government within 24 hours. Now 24 months have passed, but I still have patience for our party to form government. But I have not interfered, I will not interfere, nor do I want to contest the elections," he said.

--IANS

maya/prs