JOIN USEx-Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro resigns from Congress; tips Mamata Banerjee to take on Modi
Ending days of speculation over his exit, former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro on Monday formally resigned from the Congress party and as an MLA, while slamming the Congress leadership at the Centre and Goa and tipping West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as the tour de force to take on the BJP in the state and country.
The Congress has accused Faleiro, who has been with the party for more than 30 years serving as Chief Minister on two occasions as well as an AICC general secretary on several occasions, of being deceptive and called his exit from the Congress and his praise of Banerjee, a result of a voluntary retirement service (VRS) package which Faleiro had accepted from the West Bengal-based political outfit.
"Madam, the Congress in Goa is not the same party for which we had sacrificed and fought. It is functioning contrary to every ideal and principle of its founding fathers upheld by Smt Indiraji, Shri Rajiv ji and you. Shri Rahul Gandhi too has been uncompromising in his fight against the forces that seek to destroy the fabric of our nation," Faleiro has said in his resignation letter to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
"However, the Goa unit of the party has become a cruel parody of what Congress stands for. Led by a coterie of leaders who prioritise personal gains over the responsibility we owe to our people, we have utterly failed to even be an effective opposition," Faleiro further said.
While Faleiro has categorically stated that he had not joined the Trinamool Congress just yet, he showered praise on Banerjee, especially her combative politics vis-a-vis the BJP.
"We have to see who has got the power to face the present dispensation which is ruling in Delhi and ruling in Goa. Definitely, I will support Mamta Congress because she has fought, she has succeeded... She symbolises women empowerment which can bring this country back on the rails of development and progress," Faleiro told a press conference in Panaji.
The former Chief Minister also said that he would work towards unifying Congress splinter groups like the Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress, YSR Congress and the Indian National Congress to work together to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party, while also announcing a statewide agitation to take Goa back from the BJP.
Reacting to the development All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Faleiro appeared deceptive in his conduct, while also expressing sadness at Faleiro's acceptance of a VRS package from the TMC at the fag end of his career.
"This could be a VRS (package). When you feel that now there is nothing for me here, just take something and go. I was not convinced by anything he was saying (during the press conference)... It is sad that people at the fag end of their careers take this kind of decision... I wish him best of luck," Rao said.
Check out the latest DH videos here: