|
Political crisis in Goa : Congress-led Govt. faces trust vote today |
 |
Goa Governor S.C. Jamir has asked Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to face a confidence vote in the State Assembly today, July 30. This follows developments in the last few days which reduced the Kamat Government to a minority in the State Assembly. The Governor has also directed Speaker Pratap Singh Rane to take the confidence vote ahead of other items on the Assembly agenda.
The political crisis in Goa reached Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday, July 28, with the BJP parading 20 of its supporting MLAs before Pratibha Patil.
Led by BJP chief Rajnath Singh, the 20 MLAs, including Pandurang and Ramkrishna Dhavalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Goman¬tak Party and Churchill Alemao of the Save Goa Front trooped before Patil with the demand to ensure a sitting of the State Assembly on July 30.
“The Goa government has been reduced to a minority and has deliberately skipped the sitting of the Assembly on Friday,” Leader of the Opposition in Goa Assembly Manohar Parrikar told reporters after meeting Patil.
“The President told the MLAs that Goa Governor S. C. Jamir will uphold the Constitution,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said.
However, the Chief Minister too called on the Governor on Friday to claim that he continued to have a majority and it would be proved on the floor of the House by transacting the financial business scheduled for Monday.
The claims by the rival combinations notwithstanding, the Kamat Government has been left with 18 of the 19 MLAs of the Congress-NCP pre-poll alliance and the support of one independ¬ent, taking its tally to 19 including the Speaker, in the trun¬cated House of 39.
The crisis in Goa erupted on July 26 after two members of the MGP, one UGDP legislator and an Independent withdrew support to the Kamat Ministry. The problem was compounded further by the resignation of lone woman Congress legislator Victoria Fernandes. This brought the strength of the ruling side down to 19 in the 40-member Assembly.
Goa has witnessed political instability in the past also with legislators defecting to bring down governments and going in for new formations. As a result, Goa has had 15 Governments in the last 17 years.
|
