Cong stakes claim to form Goa govt, BJP in a huddle

BJP LEGISLATOR MICHAEL LOBO SAID THE PARTY HAD CALLED THE EMERGENCY MEETING BECAUSE PARRIKAR’S HEALTH HAD DETERIORATED

PANAJI: The Congress staked its claim to the government in Goa on Saturday, as chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s deteriorating health prompted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to go into an emergency huddle late in the day to consider alternatives in a worst-comes-to-worst scenario over the coming days.

The Congress staked its claim on grounds that the BJP’S strength in the assembly had diminished following the death of its legislator Francis D ’Souza last month.the party sought an appointment with the governor to formally stake its claim.

BJP legislator Michael Lobo said the party had called the emergency meeting because Parrikar’s health had deteriorated “a lot” since Friday night. “And doctors are checking on him continuously but they are not able to say he will improve. That is why an emergency meeting was called on what should be our future strategy,” Lobo said.

Parrikar, 63, who is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer, has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and New Delhi over the past year. Lobo said there was no question of a leadership change in the Goa BJP as long as Parrikar is around.

“Leadership change will not happen till Parrikar is there. Till then he is the CM; there is no such demand to change the leadership from anyone. From party command in Delhi to Goa MLAS, there is no such demand,” he said. Party president Vinay Tendulkar said the government was stable. “Our CM is there and he has not resigned. Only if he resigns can we think of other things,” Tendulkar told waiting reporters after the meeting, adding that the BJP’S central leadership had been briefed about the emerging situation in Goa.

Earlier in the day, Vijai Sardesai, the leader of Goa Forward party, along with his colleagues and three independent members supporting the government, called on Parrikar at his private residence.