Panaji: NCP on Tuesday said a decision regarding
the party's role in the Goa government and its state unit
would be taken in Delhi tomorrow.
NCP leader and former Tourism Minister Fransisco Micky
Pacheco, who met party chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi, said they
will have another crucial round of talks tomorrow.
Senior state NCP leaders led by Pacheco have been camping
in Delhi since the last two days after they were summoned by
Pawar following NCP state executives' threat to resign en-mass
from the party.
The leaders are rallying behind Pacheco, who has not been
inducted in the cabinet by the Congress-led state government
although the NCP high command has cleared his induction.
Pacheco, who met Pawar today in Delhi, said the meeting
was fruitful.
"Things are working in the right direction. We have been
asked to stay back in Delhi for another round of talks
tomorrow," he said, adding that NCP general secretary Praful
Patel will also take part in it.
"Some important decisions on the future of the party's
Goa unit and its role in the state government would be taken
in the meeting," Pacheco said.
NCP's national leaders including A P Sangma and Nivedita
Mane were present for today's meeting in which Goa unit was
represented by Pacheco, state general secretaries Venkatesh
Moni, Prakash Fadte, secretaries Irwin Soares, Anil Jolapure
and senior leader Lyndon Monteiro.
NCP, a coalition partner in the Digambar Kamat-led Goa
government, was rattled as two of its ministers ? Jose Philip
D'Souza and Nilkant Halarnkar, began hobnobbing with the
Congress.
Pawar had asked both the ministers to quit from the
cabinet, which they refused to do.
Following that, the Chief Minister was asked to drop them
from the cabinet.
Pawar's requests were not conceded by the Congress which
was fearing a revolt within the party.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 16:19