Panaji, April 22 (Inditop) The Congress has decided not to take any action against the rebellious but powerful Alemao brothers – Churchill and Joaquim – both Goa cabinet ministers, who had called some party leaders “dishonest” and “untrustworthy” at a public election rally.
Goa state Congress president Subhash Shirodkar said the party would “not take any disciplinary action against the Alemaos until the elections”.
Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao and Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao had also ridiculed the Congress candidate for the South Goa seat Francisco Sardinha as unfit for the polls.
Shirodkar said there were minor differences between Sardinha and the Alemaos.
“The utterances like ‘barring Sonia Gandhi and the state president, no leader in the Congress could be trusted’ and ‘Congress party cannot be trusted’, amounted to only a minor breach of discipline,” Shirodkar told IANS.
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, who was also present at the controversial public meeting, also ignored queries as to the kind of disciplinary action the party would initiate against the Alemao brothers.
“Right now all my energies are focussed on winning these elections. Nothing else bothers me,” Kamat said.
Churchill has been venting his ire against Sardinha, who was preferred over the former’s daughter Valanka Alemao for the South Goa constituency.
The Congress has been soft pedalling on the Alemao brothers’ outburst apparently because of the sphere of influence the duo have over a large part of the coastal Salcete, which has a sizeable Christian population that more often than not tilts the balance in favour of the Congress in the South Goa Lok Sabha seat.
Voting for the two Goa Lok Sabha seats would be held Thursday
rounak