MARGAO
Dissent within the Goa Congress appears to be intensifying, with a section of party workers mounting pressure on South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes to intervene with the party high command and seek a rollback of the decision to reinstate Girish Chodankar as the president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC).
Sources said agitated workers have urged the South Goa MP to take up the matter directly with the Congress leadership in New Delhi, arguing that the decision has triggered widespread dissatisfaction among party cadres and sections of the party’s traditional support base.
Some disgruntled workers are even believed to have gone a step further, demanding that Captain Viriato tender his resignation to the Congress high command as a mark of protest against Chodankar’s reappointment.
According to sources, party workers have requested the MP to personally meet senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and convey the concerns and sentiments prevailing among grassroots workers in Goa.
The demand for intervention has gathered momentum after a couple of members of the clergy reportedly came out openly against Chodankar’s appointment, further fuelling discontent within sections of the party. Workers have urged the MP to act swiftly in what they describe as the larger interest of the Congress in the State.
The issue is understood to have figured prominently during interactions between party workers and Captain Viriato following a programme organised by the Benaulim Block Congress Committee at Varca on Saturday. The event marked the installation of a statue of Opinion Poll hero Jack de Sequeira.
Sources said that after being confronted by workers over the developments within the party, the MP, along with a group of close aides and supporters, held discussions at a location along the Salcete coastal belt to assess the political situation and deliberate on a possible response to Chodankar’s appointment.
Political observers believe that Captain Viriato’s public statement that he was not consulted by the party high command before the reconstitution of the GPCC has further emboldened dissatisfied workers, who now see him as the most influential voice capable of conveying their concerns to the national leadership.
During discussions on Saturday, workers reportedly urged the South Goa MP to lead a delegation to New Delhi to appraise the party high command of the prevailing mood among Congress workers and the party’s core voter base regarding the recent reorganisation of the State unit.
