"Hurt Beyond Words": Goa Congress' Digambar Kamat On Defection Allegations

Following the allegations of hatching a defection conspiracy in the Goa unit of the Congress party, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Monday said that he is "shocked and stunned" and the words of party's state in charge Dinesh Gundu Rao have "deeply hurt" him.

Mr Kamat also asked Congress leaders to look at his performance in the party and said that he has led the party from the front.

The remarks of the Congress leader came a day after Mr Rao alleged that Mr Kamat, along with Michael Lobo, was "conspiring" against their own party leaders in tandem with the BJP.

"I saw a video of the presser of Dinesh Gundu Rao (Congress Goa in-charge) which is being circulated. I am shocked and stunned; it has hurt me beyond words. Dinesh Rao was at my place on Saturday night, I told him my position then," Mr Kamat said while speaking to the reporters here.

He said that the "humiliation" caused to him angered his party workers and deeply hurt him. "So for the time being, I said, I am not going to accept any responsibility. Once I'm fit, we'll see. Rumours about me joining BJP have been spreading since 2017," he added.

Stating that he would have gone "if he wanted to go", Mr Kamat said that although he went all out for Congress, the party changed him from the position of the leader of the Opposition.

"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," Mr 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 Mr 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," Mr Rao said.

He added that a new leader will be elected for the post of Leader of Opposition.

"A new leader will be elected. Whatever action has to be taken by law against this kind of defection, anti-party work will follow. Let's see how many people will stay/move. Five of our MLAs are here, we are in touch with some more MLAs and they'll be along with us," he said.

Mr Rao asserted that the Congress party will not be disheartened or weakened.

"We will take up this issue in a more aggressive manner. We will inform the people that this betrayal is being engineered by two people for the sake of power and personal gain," he added.

Amid rumours that some Congress MLAs may cross over to the ruling BJP, Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, Ramesh Tawadkar on Sunday cancelled the notification announcing elections for the post of Deputy Speaker.

Earlier on Sunday, Congress MLA and wife of Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo was seen leaving the residence of CM and BJP leader Pramod Sawant.

Meanwhile, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has asked party MP Mukul Wasnik to rush to the coastal state to oversee the latest political developments.

Congress leader KC Venugopal tweeted, "Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked MP Mukul Wasnik to rush to Goa to oversee the latest political developments in the state."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)