Party to decide on action against Deputy Speaker's outburst: Goa BJP chief

Deputy speaker Lobo had said that he would not mind resigning from the party if the state administration remained collapsed in Parrikar's absence

Goa BJP chief Vijay Tendulkar said Wednesday that the party's core committee would decide on action against Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo for his outburst against the state administration.

Lobo, the MLA from Calangute Constituency in North Goa district, said last Friday that the state administration had "totally collapsed" because of the absence of ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and people were praying for his early recovery.

Parrikar, 62, is admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi since September 15 for a pancreatic ailment.

Lobo had said that qualified youth are waiting for the government to provide them job opportunities and the issue of mining resumption is also hanging fire despite the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power both at the Centre and in Goa.

The Goa BJP had earlier expressed unhappiness over his remarks.

"The BJP's state-level core committee will sit and decide what action should be taken against Lobo for his outburst against the party," Tendulkar told PTI Wednesday.

He said the party was yet to decide whether to issue a show cause notice to Lobo or not.

The core committee is the BJP's key decision-making body in Goa, comprising senior leaders like Parrikar, Union minister Shripad Naik and party state chief Vinay Tendulkar, among others.

Lobo had also said that he would not mind resigning from the party, if the state administration remained collapsed in Parrikar's absence.

Reacting to his comments, Tendulkar said, "It is easy to threaten to resign. If he really means what he says, he should resign and then inform the public that he has done it."

The Goa BJP chief said Parrikar had called Lobo to Delhi after his outburst.

"The chief minister has told him what needs to be told," he said.