Panaji: A Shiv Sena rebel group on Sunday
demanded that Goa state president Upendra Gaonkar be ousted
from the post accusing him of being involved in financial
irregularities.
The rebel faction led by Panaji unit President
Shrikrishna Veluskar alleged that Gaonkar was involved
in financial irregularities and has been responsible for
crumbling the party organisation in the state.
Gaonkar, however, has refuted the charges claiming
that most of the rebel leaders have already been expelled by
the party supremo Balasaheb Thackrey and executive president
Uddhav Thackrey.
The rebel leader Veluskar said that they have been
pressing for change in leadership for last three months."We
have submitted a memorandum to the party high command. This
week, we are leaving to Mumbai to personally meet the party
leaders and convey to them the large scale irregularities
committed by Gaonkar," Veluskar said.
Shiv Sena leader Shashikant Sardesai said that Shiv Sena
is slowly losing its base in Goa due to lack of interest
by Gaonkar towards its growth.
"We were told that lot of money is received by local
party unit to spend for the day to day office expenses. But
somehow no one knows where that money goes," he alleged.
The rebel leaders said that Shiv Sena observers like
Subhash Sawant descend in Goa, meet a handful of self
proclaimed leaders and go back to Mumbai.
"They never meet the actual leaders. We have no faith
in such observers," he said adding there was Shiv Sena in Goa
but there were no Shiv Sainiks.
Sardesai said that many leaders were expelled from the party
by Gaonkar without issuing them show cause notice.
Gaonkar refuting the charges said that the high command
has already taken the detailed report from him on the Goa
situation. "The rebels had demanded my ouster almost
three months ago. But high command is very well aware of the
work I have done during my tenure since 2006," he said.
The Shiv Sena Goa chief said that such a rebel will
wither away as they don't muster much support in the party.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 14, 2010, 21:09