Cong-MGP-NCP join hands against dissolution

Sandesh Prabhudesai
28 February 2002  

Fuming with a sudden decision of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to get the Goa Assembly dissolved, three parties including one having its sole minister in the government have planned to challenge Goa governor’s decision in the court.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar however has welcomed the opposition move, claiming that it will put all wrong interpretations to rest. He fully justifies his action to recommend dissolution, stating that the governor has legally no other option than to implement it.

"The decision is highly unconstitutional and has no legal basis", claims Dr Wilfred de Souza, the state president of the Nationalist Congress Party, who was also the sole legislator of the dissolved ninth Assembly.

In a sudden move, Parrikar yesterday morning rushed to the Raj Bhavan with a resolution adopted by the cabinet, recommending dissolution of the 32-month old Assembly, in order to seek fresh mandate.

Luizinho Faleiro, the former state opposition leader, has however alleged that no formal consent of the cabinet was sought by the chief minister while Governor Mohammed Fazal issued order of dissolution without verifying the facts.

However, no cabinet minister has come forward to support Faleiro’s allegation till now. Parrikar, on the other hand, has claimed that the resolution was unanimous and signed by all the 13 members while one was out of station.

The BJP, which got ten of its members elected to the Assembly in June 1999, ultimately came to power in October 2000 by engineering defections within the Congress, which was actually elected to power in the Assembly polls.

At the time of dissolution, besides 21 of the BJP in the 40-member House, the Congress had 15 members, two of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, one NCP and two independents. One of the MGP men is also minister in the BJP government.

"I do not bother if the MGP joins hands with the opposition against me as long as the MGP minister is with us", states Parrikar. The BJP general secretary Govind Parvatkar has however clarified that they will not join hands with the MGP to fight elections.

Besides challenging the decision to dissolve the House on legal grounds, de Souza has also held the governor guilty of sheltering the errant chief minister who, according to him, had no guts to face the budget session, which was to begin from 13 March.

Congress leader Faleiro has also blamed the governor for playing in the hands of the BJP by allowing Parrikar to continue in power along with the whole cabinet. He has demanded imposition of President’s rule in Goa.

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