As Parrikar wins floor test, Congress MLA goes missing, later resigns

Criticising the party’s central observers, particularlyaiccgeneralsecretarydigvijaya Singh, Rane said the decision to resign was taken after he heard that Singh had alleged that he had sided with the BJP and was seen having tea with Parrikar at a hotel.

“That was a huge statement he made. I decided then that I will quit the party and abstain from voting. Such statements cannotbetolerated.inthewholecampaign,we workedasoneforcefightingbjpandallnonsecular fronts. We have worked hard to reach here, and this absolute lethargy by Singh and the central observers, who came here, was shocking,” said Rane.

Significantly,thencp’schurchillalemao, too, stood in favour of the Parrikar government, promising support from outside. The NCP later threatened action under the antidefectionlawagainstchurchillaskinghimto respond within seven days on his decision to support the BJP without seeking the central leadership’s consent.

After days of speculation over government formation, the first day of the new assembly began with Kuncalienkar, elected from Panjim, administering the oath to the MLAS.

Soon, the floor test was called. A minute later, Congress MLA and senior-most Opposition leader Pratapsingh Rane asked thespeakerifthehousewasfullandifvotes taken in the absence of an MLA would be against the Constitution. His question went unheard as Kuncalienkar asked everyone supportingthegovernmenttostand,leading totheshowofstrengthinfavourofparrikar’s team.

Later,standingonthestepsoftheassembly,parrikarsaidhewouldbe“thefirstchief Minister to run a coalition government smoothly in Goa”. “In fact, we will teach everyone,” he said.

Parrikaralsosaidthatthebjpwouldsoon send a legal notice for defamation to the Congress for all the allegations of “money power”levelledbytheaiccleadershipover the last three days.

Later,inthefirstofficialpressconference ofthenewgovernment,parrikarannounced that one portfolio each would be given to every minister by Friday evening. He said that the position of deputy chief minister and the Rajya Sabha seat would be decided by the “coalition government”.

With the budget session to begin soon, Parrikar said the priority of the government wastobeginworkatthesoonest.“ihavenot touched any important file. Policy decisions will have to be taken by the coalition government and hence, I have only cleared some routine files,” he said.

Thenewgovernmenthasalsofixedapril 14 as the deadline to arrive at a “common minimum programme drafted by the collective ideology of the coalition government”,saidparrikar.“itwilllookintoaspects of Goa’s development and the medium for generating employment in the state,” he said.

Vijai Sardesai, leader of Goa Forward, which fought the election on an anti-bjp plank before offering support to Parrikar, said he remained committed to the government’s vision. Asked about his party’s change in stand, he said, “The past is past. The future is only Goa first.” Parrikar intervened to say, “Goa First and Fast Forward”.

At the Chief Minister’s office, Parrikar was far more relaxed as he referred to a local dish, which uses all kinds of vegetables, to say that his government will be like the “Khatkate\, only richer”.

Repeatedly taking digs at the Congress, Parrikarsaid,“theydidn’thavethenumbers ondayone,orwhentheywenttocourt.even when they went to the floor test today, they had one less than 17. We have succeeded in debunking Digvijaya Singh’s claims.”

His harshest words, too, were reserved for the Congress. “One needs to ask the Digvijayasonalltheseallegations.theproblem with the Congress is that there is no common leadership. They need to stand together. They are jittery. I want to know the maths behind the number of suitcases that have gone out of Goa and not just the numbersthathavecomein,ashealleges,”hesaid.

While the next test for Parrikar is to get elected to the assembly within six months, he said “There are many choices. I will stand when the time comes. For now, the budget is the next priority.”

Digvijaya Singh, meanwhile, said he would update Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi over the weekend on the party’s situation in Goa.

Providing his version of the events leading to the floor test, Singh said, “To tell the truth,threeindependentsandthencpwere with us. Everyone is saying we should have sent the letter that day (March 11) itself. Tell me, where has it happened that a party, whichstakesclaim,sendsaletterofsupport without electing its new leader. It was all happening between 4 pm and 7 pm on March 12. On the other side, (Goa Forward leader) Vijai Sardesai was asking for Digambar Kamat as the chief minister candidate. We wanted to know (Goa Congress chief) Luizinho’s reply as he had good support, too, and had worked equally hard. He gavehisconfirmationbyeveningandthings were comfortable.”

Singh said that “a lot of things changed” by the morning of March 12.

“The Independent Rohan Khaunte’s phone had become unreachable. We then found that even Sardesai wasn’t answering our calls. We were left with two Independents and the NCP. Things again went wrong in two hours. We don’t want to takenamesbutnoonecandenythatmoney had changed hands,” alleged Singh.