Goa: Outgoing Congress chief John Fernandes blames Parrikar for his ouster

Panaji: Goa Congress’s outgoing chief John Fernandes today accused some party leaders of colluding with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to dislodge him from the post. “Parrikar was panicky after the state Congress unit started a tirade against corruption in the state,” Fernandes, who was removed from the post last evening by AICC and replaced with former Goa Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro, told reporters here. [caption id=“attachment_1747705” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Goa Congress chief John Fernandes.[/caption] “We had given representation to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha pointing out the corruption in the state. We had demanded that Parrikar be removed from the post. The copy of our representation must have reached the CM’s office and he must have pressed the panic button,” Fernandes alleged. “Allies of Parrikar in Congress were pressed into service to hasten my removal,” he further alleged. He also accused the Parrikar government of withdrawing cases of forgery filed earlier against Faleiro’s wife. “I don’t want to make allegations against Faleiro. I have nothing against him. The report about withdrawal of cases had appeared in the local press,” he said. Fernandes said Parrikar already has his allies in the Congress legislative party. “Now he will have allies in the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee too,” he said, hinting at Faleiro. When contacted, Faleiro rubbished the allegations levelled by Fernandes. “My appointment as GPCC chief is a long pending thing. It has been discussed for last one-and-half year,” Faleiro said. “I have accepted the post as a loyal soldier of the party. I was offered it thrice in the past but I had refused,” said the former CM. PTI