Panaji: The Congress party in Goa has flown five out of its eleven MLAs to Chennai ahead of the crucial Presidential election.
A group of five MLAs including Sankalp Amonkar, Yuri Alemao, Altone D’Costa, Rudolf Fernandes and Carlose Alvares Ferreira were taken to Chennai on Friday evening.
All these MLAs flew to Chennai directly after the Assembly Session, a senior Congress leader confirmed adding that they would arrive in Goa directly to participate in the Presidential poll.
The monsoon session of Goa Legislative Assembly is currently underway in the state.
Sources stated that six other MLAs including Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo, Delialah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Aleixo Sequeira and Rajesh Faldesai were not part of the group of MLAs that left for Chennai.
When contacted, Lobo said that he has no idea why MLAs were taken to Chennai. “I was not invited. I don’t know why they were taken to Chennai,” said Lobo who claimed that he was in Mumbai on Friday evening where he had visited on a business visit.
Congress was hit with a rebellion last Saturday after six of its MLAs reportedly had differences with the party. A group of five MLAs remained with the Congress, due to which the six of them, on Monday, returned to the party fold.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar has filed disqualification petition against Kamat and Lobo before the Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly.
All the six MLAs have ruled out that they had any differences with the party.
