Goa crisis: Digambar Kamat calls for introspection within Congress

Amid the ongoing crisis within the Congress Goa unit, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has called for introspection within the party citing losses in elections and defections.

Kamat, responding to the "anti-party" charge against him, said that he will face it stating that he has worked for the party with sincerity.

The remarks of the Congress leader came after allegations were levelled against him of hatching a conspiracy to split the party.

"I worked for the party with sincerity. Congress has to do a lot of introspection as we are losing so many polls and leaders are leaving us," he said while speaking to ANI on Tuesday.

 

Kamat further said that he has opportunities in the past "if he wanted to take action", however, he stayed with the party, yet was rewarded with the disqualification petition.

"I don't know what crisis is going on in the Congress party... I saw his (Dinesh Gundu Rao) video and was shocked, and surprised to see the way he was talking. If I wanted to take any action, I had a lot of opportunities in 2017 and 2022," he said.

"I stayed with the party in 2017 when we had a clear mandate, still party didn't ask me whether I can form the government and we lost the opportunity... Now, this is the reward I get. They are filing a disqualification petition against me for anti-party activities. I don't understand what anti-parties activities? However, I will face it. The party should find out those who are doing this," the Congress leader added.

Earlier on Monday, he made it clear that he is still in Congress.

"If I wanted to go, I'd have gone. No one can stop me. But still, I led the party from the front, I went all out. And suddenly, they changed me from LoP when the results came in. I don't know why he made such a statement. I'm in Congress, you can see my performance," Kamat said.

Notably, Congress on Sunday also sacked Michael Lobo as the Leader of Opposition in the Goa Assembly for alleged conspiracy to engineer defections.

Congress said that the BJP was trying for a 2/3rd split and offered huge amounts of money to party legislators.

Congress alleged that Lobo along with Digambar Kamat hatched a conspiracy to engineer defections in "total coordination" with the BJP.

"This conspiracy was led by two of our own leaders, Leaders of Opposition Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat. Both these people had been working in total coordination with BJP. One person- Digambar Kamat- did it to safeguard his own skin because so many cases are against him and the other person- Michael Lobo- for the sake of power and position. BJP wants to finish Opposition," Rao said.