Thaindian News

Panaji, July 23 (IANS) Goa ministers and brothers Churchill Alemao and Joaquim Alemao Saturday submitted their resignations from the cabinet as also the Congress party, after Churchil’s daughter was disqualified from internal Youth Congress elections scheduled next week.

Churchill, the public works department (PWD) minister and a former chief minister, and Joaquim, the urban development minister, submitted their resignations to the chief minister’s secretariat.

“I, along with my brother, have resigned because my daughter (Valanka) was disqualified from the Youth Congress elections without any necessary reason,” Churchill Alemao told reporters in Margao, 35 km from Panaji.

Valanka, 30, an aspiring politician, had been publicly endorsed by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and the Alemaos and was one of the front runners in the Youth Congress polls. The elections were being conducted by Foundation for Advance Management of Elections (FAME), an NGO pursuing electoral reforms and floated by former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh.

Speaking to reporters here, Youth Congress returning officer Sumit Khanna said that the disqualification followed after instructions from FAME.

“As per directions of FAME, Valanka has been disqualified for contesting any elections for any post in IYC or NSUI for a period of one year. She was issued a show cause notice after a complaint claimed that Valanka was using political clout to win the polls. Her reply to the notice was not found satisfactory,” Khanna said, adding that the polls were scheduled on July 26 and 27.

Kamat was not available for comment.

The Congress has 20 legislators in the 40-member house, and is supported by the three members of the Nationalist Congress Party and two members of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 14 members and there is one Independent member in the assembly.