Willy splits, rushes to Raj Bhavan to stake claim

Sandesh Prabhudesai
27 July 1998  

The Congress government in Goa, led by Pratapsing Rane, is likely to fall with its rebel leader and deputy chief minister Dr Wilfred de Souza planning to split the party and forming a coalition government with the opposition parties.

After holding a secret meeting at a five star hotel in North Goa last night to finalise the strategy, the rebel MLAs, along with the opposition members, have rushed to the Raj Bhavan at 9 am to stake claim to form the new government. The monsoon session of the Assembly however is still on.

De Souza is planning to split the party at least with nine MLAs, out of total 23, while the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party's eight MLAs and at least three independents are to participate in the new coalition government. The BJP, having only four MLAs, is reportedly planning to support from outside.

The Goa Assembly consists of 40 seats, out of which 23 are with the Congress, eight MGP, four BJP, two of Churchill Alemao's United Goans Democratic Party and three independents.

While several Congress MLAs were not happy with Rane's leadership, the main issue coming to the fore now is the CM's move to readmit Alemao, along with his MLAs, into the Congress. The UGDP supremo has been given green signal by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for the homecoming.

The splinter group of the ruling party consists of at least five ministers and the deputy speaker, from among the 14-members of Rane's jumbo cabinet.

The sudden move is being reportedly made since the high command emissary Madhavrao Scindia was slated to come to Goa on 1 August to finalise formalities of Alemao's readmission and persuade the disgruntled elements in the ruling party.

UPDATE ON GOA DEVELOPMENTS :

Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane said today afternoon that he will not submit his resignation, but would face the House, which assembles at 2.30 pm. "Let them defeat me on the floor of the House, if they have the majority", he said.

Following the rebel Congress MLAs led by Dr de Souza and other opposition members meeting the Governor, Rane also met the governor. Sources close to Rane claim that he has informed the governor that he has dropped the five ministers from his cabinet.

These include rebel leader and Dy CM de Souza, Irrigation Minister Dayanand Narvekar, Transport Minister Subhash Shirodkar, Forest Minister Carmo Pegado and Social Welfare Minister Chandrakant Chodankar.

Out of them, Pegado and Chodankar have already been expelled from the party, along with deputy speaker Deu Mandrekar as well as Fatima D'Sa and Jagdish Acharya, both the MLAs on Friday. Similarly, the party has also admitted two MLAs belonging to Churchill Alemao's UGDP, Arecio D'Souza and Joaquim Alemao, into the Congress.

Speaker Tomazinho Cardoz admitted that he had received an intimation from the chief minister about the five expulsions and two admissions, with a request to make a separate sitting arrangement for the five expelled members while bringing two former UGDP MLAs, who are now in the Congress, on the side of the treasury benches.

Though BJP has demanded that the governor should direct the speaker to prove Rane's majority on the floor of the House, Cardoz claims that governor cannot direct him to do so. "Only the Business advisory committee can change the business of the House", he says, while also stating categorically that the business would not change.

After the Question Hour, the House will take up budgetary demands for grants of a few departments for discussion and voting. The government can fall if the demands are not passed.

The speaker himself is facing a no confidence motion moved against him by the opposition, which was supposed to be taken up for granting leave of the House on 29 July. Cardoz is not sure what would happen to it now.

Meanwhile, the BJP emissary, probably Pramod Mahajan, is flying down to Goa to plan his party strategy. He would decide whether to participate in the new government or not.

UPDATE - 3 Rebel Congress leader Wilfred de Souza, who has now split the ruling party to form the Goa Rajiv Congress, met Governor J F R Jacob once again in the evening along with the opposition parties, demanding forcefully that the Pratapsing Rane government be dismissed.

No Assembly proceedings could be taken up today afternoon since 15 Congress members, including nine ministers, raised a pandemonium in the House demanding immediate disqualification of five of their party colleagues, who are not expelled but have formed a splinter group under Dr Willy's leadership.

The House was adjourned till tomorrow, after adjourning it once earlier for a brief spell, since the chief minister and his colleagues did not allow the speaker to carry on the business of the House. "Mr Rane has no right to sit in the CM's chair since he has failed to transact the financial business slated for the day", de Souza told the reporters after the adjournment. The governor should now use his constitutional powers to act against the paralysed government, he added.

While Dr Willy has split with nine other Congressmen including five ministers and the deputy speaker, the Congress claimed that five among them, including two ministers and the deputy speaker, were already expelled from the party on Friday. They have also shown on the paper that two MLAs belonging to Churchill Alemao's United Goans Democratic Party were admitted into the Congress on the same day.

Exploiting this situation, industries minister Luizinho Faleiro argued at the beginning of the session today that only five have split from the 25-member strong Congress, which does not form one third of the strength required as per the provisions of the tenth schedule of the constitution.

The pandemonium was raised in the House demanding disqualification of the non-expelled five members. They include de Souza, irrigation minister Dayanand Narvekar, transport minister Subhash Shirodkar and two other party MLAs - Pandu Vasu Naik and Pandurang Bhatale.

The Congress is now filing disqualification petition against these five members. The stalemate would continue further if the speaker immediately acts upon it by disqualifying five members of the Goa Rajiv Congress by tomorrow.

The political drama in the meanwhile continued with Rane refusing to step down and opting to prove his majority on the floor of the House. Speaker Tomazinho Cardoz, before leaving for the Raj Bhavan to brief the governor about the happenings, told reporters that he would not mind taking up motion of vote of confidence if the governor advises him to do so.

Dr Willy however seems to be fully prepared to form the coalition government, claiming a majority of 23 MLAs with him, out of total 40. Both the MGP and the BJP, besides one independent MLA, have renders unconditional support to him. "Let this government go. Then I will stake my claim", he said.

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