Cong says Goa govt not functional, stakes claim

Early polls shouldn’t happen, invite us to form govt, party asks governor

PANAJI: The Opposition Congress staked claim to form a government in Goa on Monday, demanding the dismissal of the ruling alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a time when chief minister Manohar Parrikar is undergoing treatment in New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Chandrakant Kavlekar, the Congress legislature party chief, said in a letter to the governor that Parrikar was “unable to function and governance has come to a standstill”, even as the BJP sent three senior leaders to assess the political situation in the state and stressed that there was no threat to its government. “We submitted two memorandums (to the governor’s office) and requested that (the) situation to undergo election within 18 months shouldn’t arise… If the current government is not capable to function, we should be given the chance,” said Kavtrawadi lekar.

He, however, did not elaborate how his party hoped to get to the halfway mark in the state’s assembly.

With 16 of the 40 seats in the assembly, the Congress is the state’s single-largest party. But the BJP, which has 14 seats, stitched an alliance with regional players Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Maharash- Gomantak Party (MGP), which have three seats each, after the elections last year.

The coalition received the support of three independent members of the House, and formed the government.

The other seat is held by the Nationalist Congress Party, a Congress ally.

The Congress’s move came amidst concerns over the health of 62-year-old Parrikar, who has visited the United States thrice in seven months for treatment. He is suffering from a pancreatic ailment. Two other leaders in the government — urban development minister Francis D’souza and power minister Pandurang Madkaikar — are also undergoing treatment for other ailments and conditions.

“Such an impasse cannot be allowed to permeate. The government should be dismissed and we should be given an opportunity,” Kavlekar said in one of the letters submitted to governor Mridula Sinha’s office.

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