Panaji: Deepening the political crisis in
Goa, State Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday authorised
its legislators to abstain from voting on the finance bill to
be presented in the assembly to protest Congress ministers`
remarks against the party.
NCP Goa Unit President Carmo Pegado told agency this evening
that the party`s core committee was unanimous in supporting
the move by a group of seven legislators.
"The legislators are authorised to take any step,
including abstaining from voting, to protest utterances by the
Congress ministers," the NCP Goa chief said.
The group comprising three NCP legislators, two from
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party, one from United Goans
Democratic Party (UGDP) and an Independent, had on Friday
warned that Goa government should not take for granted their
support for finance bill.
"Chief Minister Digamber Kamat has failed to stop his
colleagues from making irresponsible statements against NCP
leaders. Those statements are deplorable," Pegado said.
Kamat is facing the ire of his coalition colleagues after
Congress minister Churchill Alemao and party`s legislative
party spokesman Mauvin Godinho had criticised NCP over
coalition issues.
NCP`s core committee meeting was attended by the senior
leaders and the party`s all three MLAs Fransisco Pacheco, Jose
Philip D`Souza and Nilkant Halarnkar.
The Sharad pawar-led party leaders today demanded that
the meeting of coordination committee encompassing all the
Congress-led alliance partners be held immediately.
"The committee was formed but it never met," Pegado,
a former minister, said.
The NCP-led group of seven non-Congress legislators has
been mounting pressure on the chief minister to ask the duo,
Alemao and Godinho, to tender apology for their remarks.
As a symbol of protest, the group had boycotted the
cabinet meeting on Friday.
Kamat, however, has ruled out any threat to the state
government stating that issue would be resolved by high
commands of both the parties.
PTI
