Goa govt in minority, invite us: Congress to Governor

PANAJI: Claiming that the Bjpled coalition government was in a minority, the Congress legislative party on Tuesday formally met Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and urged her to convene a one-day session of Assembly to allow it to stake claim to form the new government.

Fifteen out of the 16 Congress legislative party members met Sinha for over an hour on Tuesday evening, during which they also alleged a breakdown in the constitutional machinery due to illhealth of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, saying that there was no one to lead the treasury benches or head the Cabinet.

“We have requested her to call a special one-day session of the Assembly, where the government should prove their majority in a democratic manner. Then we will prove. We are already the singlelargest party, but we should be given an opportunity to prove the majority,” Kavlekar told reporters, after meeting Sinha with 15 Congress MLAS.

CLP member Aleixo Reginaldo was out of station, a Congress leader said.

Kavlekar also said that the BJP’S constant flirting with regional parties, urging them to merge with the ruling party had ticked off BJP MLAS who were in touch with the Congress leadership with a switchover in mind.

“The Parrikar government is in a majority only on paper. They cannot choose a leader today and they are talking of mergers with regional parties. If regional parties merge, then the BJP’S own MLAS are not willing to stay back in the party. Those (BJP MLAS) are in touch with our leaders,” Kavlekar said.

Asked if the Congress legislative party, which already has four former Chief Ministers who have bickered over leadership issues in the past, had a chief ministerial candidate in mind, Kavlekar said: “We will declare our chief ministerial candidate when the Governor calls a one-day session. We are waiting for the opportunity... there will be no leadership squabbles between us. There will be no split over leadership.” The Congress leader also said that the Governor had informed them on her call on Parrikar at the AIIMS on Tuesday.