Bandekar quits BJP to join Cong
Sandesh Prabhudesai
6 April 2002
Former information minister Sanjay Bandekar,
who was dropped from the Bharatiya Janata Party cabinet
on Thursday, today quit the saffron brigade to join back
the Congress, which he had left in October 2000.
While dropping from the cabinet after he
dissolved the House one month ago, chief minister Manohar
Parrikar had also indicated that he will not get the party
ticket to contest the forthcoming assembly elections.
Goa PCC chief Nirmala Sawant however preferred
to restrict herself from commenting on Bandekar's homecoming,
stating that the decision on his readmission will be taken
by the high command. "He has not approached us till now,
but he is welcome to work as a well-wisher", she said.
Bandekar's supporters claim that the former
minister will contest on a Congress ticket from his Canacona
constituency. He was elected to the ninth Assembly in June
1999 from the same party, defeating his close rival from
the BJP.
While talking to media persons today, Bandekar
also threw a bombshell, disclosing that Parrikar had dissolved
the House as eight of the BJP legislators - including himself
- had decided to split on 3 March and topple his 16-month
old government.
Fearing the split, Parrikar had however
gone ahead with the dissolution on 27 February. The BJP
government was formed in October 2000, when four Congressmen
including Bandekar had split from the Congress. Quite a
few who had split much earlier from the Congress had also
joined the saffron brigade to form the BJP government.
Bandekar was the only minister who was
away in Ladakh when the cabinet had formally decided to
dissolve the 40-member House. He now describes Parrikar's
decision as most undemocratic as 28 more months were left
for the House to get its term expired.
The former minister however has not denied
Parrikar's allegation that he was hobnobbing with the Congress
for the last six months. Countering the CM's allegation
that he was an inefficient minister, Bandekar however now
claims that the toppling game was planned as Parrikar himself
was found to be inefficient to run the state of affairs.
