Centre may impose President' Rule
Agencies
(New Delhi)
1 August 2007
A day after the controversial
`trial of strength’ in the Goa assembly, chief minister Digambar Kamat held
discussions with senior Congress leaders and the Union home minister here on Tuesday
amid clear indications that an influential section of the party and the Centre
is advocating imposition of President’s rule in the state after keeping the
assembly under suspended animation.
Even though Congress sources refuse
to hazard a guess about the timing of the next move, senior party leaders privately
admit that imposing President’s rule could be a possible option for the party.
Apart from meeting Mr Shivraj Patil, the chief minister also held discussions
with Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary, Ahmed Patel,
and AICC general secretary in-charge of the state Margaret Alva.
The government
leadership is also in touch with governor S C Jameer who is reportedly in the
process of sending a report to the Centre about his assessment of the manner in
which the assembly proceedings were held in Panaji on Monday as well his reading
of the post-vote political situation in the state.
Even though Mr Kamat,
understandably, tried to reason with the leadership about the conduct of the Speaker
on Monday, there is a growing realisation in the Congress leadership that the
manner in which the trust vote was won on the floor of the assembly, especially
the Speaker’s decision to restrain the two MLAs belonging to the Maharashtrawadi
Gomantak Party (MGP) from participating in the voting may not stand legal scrutiny.
No sooner did the Kamat government win the trust vote, Opposition parties
led by Manohar Parikkar announced to legally challenge the controversial conduct
of Speaker Pratapsinh Rane.
The Congress section which advocates the imposition
of President’s rule thinks that “after proving the majority of the party-led
government on the assembly, there can always be a fresh assessment of the emerging
situation vis-à-vis the stability of the government”. They also point
out that the option of keeping the state assembly could also open new situations
in a state where number games are a norm.
However the option of imposing
President’s rule and keeping the assembly under suspension will not stop
the Opposition, especially the aggrieved MGP MLAs, from going ahead with their
plan to legally challenge the Speaker’s decision.
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