13 May 2002

FORMER GOA CM FACES HIS ONCE TRUSTED PA IN POLLS

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: In retaliation to former Chief Minister and Goa Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Wilfred de Souza rejecting offer for three of the 40 seats in the Goa Assembly elections, the Congress decided on Monday to embarrass him by fielding against him none else but once his most confident personal assistant (PA) Trajano D'Mello from Saligao constituency.

Trajano who had broken away from Dr de Souza (known as Willy) about three years ago had been his errand man for years and had been privy to all his hushhush deals. Dr Willy, in fact, had full trust in Trajano to assign him very sensitive deals which he cannot do himself in view of his public image.

The Congress wants him to expose one misdeed of Dr Willy a day on the basis of the solid information he has. Trajano had been also privy to Dr de Souza, while in the Congress, allegedly funding an anti-defection petition of then MGP leader Ramakant Khalap in the High Court as also in the Supreme Court against then Congress Chief Minister Ravi Naik. Trajano used to attend the Supreme Court hearings while he or Dr Willy were supposed to have nothing to do with the case.

Yet another embarrassing issue that Trajano will be taking up is Dr Willy's concerted attempt during his chief ministership to block the Konkan Railways because of the pressure of the land mafia and the bus transporters. The then Governor Bhanu Prakash Singh had to pick up a fight against Dr Willy to ensure completion of the Konkan Railways line that has totally transformed the face of Goa in terms of easy and fast movement.

The Congress also announced on the last day of nominations on Monday candidates for the two other seats that were originally left for NCP. Premnath Maulingkar is its candidate for Tivim and Francis Fernandes for Siolim.

In Mapusa, it has preferred to give ticket to Arvind Jose Braganza ignoring the pressure of former Deputy Chief Minister Dayanand Narvekar to give the seat to his brother Subhash. Dayanand is Congress candidate from Aldona. Among the strong contenders for Mapusa seat, which has never gone to Congress, was also Surendra Sirsat, who had defected from the regional Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP). END