Unhappy with the party leadership foisting upon them an ‘unknown’ person as party president, top office bearers of the NCP and the party’s core leadership in the State have resigned and threatened to keep it that way if the party’s Central leadership doesn’t revert the decision. Speaking at a Press conference, former party president José Philip D’Souza said they “didn’t even know” who their president is and it is unlikely that he would get support of the leadership.
“This is completely unfair. How can you appoint a State president who no one knowsIJ I can say that many of us have not even met him before. The new president is not even a primary member of the NCP,” said D’Souza, a former State NCP president. The appointment of Suhas Volvoikar — a political non entity, over the weekend by the NCP top brass, had triggered a rebellion in the State NCP unit, which for over two months has been without a president after Nilkanth a former Tourism Minister put in his papers.
Party vice-president Trajano D’Mello has given an ultimatum to the top brass to sack Volvoikar and appoint a new State president. “If he does not resolve the problem in seven days, then we will be forced to act on our own,” D’Mello said. Secretary of the State NCP Bryan Pegado told reporters that the decision was taken unilaterally by the central leadership in the presence of party’s observer for Goa, Bharat Jadhav, who interviewed a series of State NCP leaders last month vis-a-vis appointment of State president. “This executive committee is rejecting the appointment outright,” Pegado said.
Volvoikar is not a familiar face in the political circles and he is expected to address the Press for the first time this week. Party sources said that over the last three years, ever since the party lost power in the State legislative elections, the NCP had been unable to raise sufficient funds and running the outfit was affecting the finances of the party. D’Souza, who was earlier offered the state presidentship last month said that there were some issues over finances, but declined to divulge details. “There are some money issues. But they are within the party domain and I cannot discuss them in the media,” he said.