No leadership change in Goa NCP unit, says Tripathi Panaji(UNI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) observer Chandrakant Tripathi today ruled out any leadership change in the Goa unit of the party and reposed faith in its president-cum-Deputy Chief Minister Wilfred D'Souza.
Talking to reporters here after winding up his four-day visit to the State to sort out intra-party differences, Mr Tripathi, who is also the party national secretary, said he had directed the partymen not to air their grievances or differences in the public, but raise them in the party forum for redressals. A section in the party, led by State Agriculture Minister and Vice President Francisco Xavier (Micky) Pascheco, had demanded a change in leadership in a bid to rejuvenate the cadre and hold more bargaining power with the coalition government led by the Congress. Micky, who reportedly did not see eye-to-eye with even Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane on a grouse that no file was being sent to him, often his grievances publicly. Therefore, Mr Tripathi was sent to resolve the differences. Mr Tripathi said ego clashes were bound to surface in any party, but made it clear that the interest of the coalition government was paramount to personal differences. "We are in the government for a qualitative coalition. We have to compromise certain things in the set up to keep the communal forces out. The constraints in the coalition government lead to differences, but they could be sorted out amicably," he said. He said all had agreed to work together for strengthening the party in the state and engages in the ongoing membership drive before holding the office bearers' elections before June this year. Meanwhile, the party had authorised Dr D'Souza to interact with Mr Rane on the issue of singling out Mr Pascheo and find an amicable solution to bring about rapproachment.
