The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Scope for horse-trading

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Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Scope for horse-trading

Sir, — The Goa Governor, S.C. Jamir, has given the Pratapsinh Rane Government time until March 4 to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly. Considering that Mr. Rane was sworn in on Feb. 2, he seems to have been given an unduly long time. This could increase the scope for horse-trading among MLAs.

T.S. Ramachandran,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — The time given to Mr. Rane is unfair when compared with the haste with which the Parrikar Government was dismissed.

V.K. Sathyavan Nair,
Kottayam, Kerala

* * *

Sir, — All constitutional norms have been thrown to the winds in Goa. All possible explanations are being given to defend the actions of the Speaker and the Governor. `Foul for foul' seems to be the guiding phrase of politicians.

S.R. Devaprakash,
Tumkur, Karnataka

* * *

Sir, — Mr. Jamir's decision to grant Mr. Rane so much time is inappropriate. One is reminded of Governor Ram Lal's role during the infamous Bhaskar Rao episode in 1984 (when he tried to wrest power from N.T. Rama Rao).

This is what Nani Palkhiwala had to say: "Almost every state is plagued by power-seekers and power-brokers, by unholy alliances and fleeting loyalties. Can the Governor be permitted to trivialise the constitutional process by virtually acting as the agent provocateur to assist a new claimant to engineer defections, desertions and disloyalties? The Constitution never intended the Governor to have the `unfettered right' to act as the official liquidator of national character."

S. Sundararaman,
Bangalore

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