The Hindu : National : Dismissal of Parrikar Government challenged

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Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

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National

Dismissal of Parrikar Government challenged

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 8. A resident of Goa has challenged in the Supreme Court the dismissal of the Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Goa by the Governor, S.C. Jamir, and the appointment of a Congress-led Government.

In a public interest petition, Krishna Murari Pandit, submitted that the Governor's decision to give 32 days to Pratapsinh Rane to prove his majority would make the State polity a fertile ground for horse-trading. He questioned the appointment of Filippe Neri Rodriguez, an independent MLA, as the Deputy Chief Minister. Mr. Rodriguez's controversial eviction from the Assembly on the day the Manohar Parrikar Government faced the trust vote had resulted in pandemonium.

The petitioner drew the attention of the court to the fact Mr. Rodriguez was a primary member of the BJP and could not have been allowed to continue as an Independent MLA as he had not resigned from the primary membership of that party. Questioning the decision of the Governor to give 32 days to Mr. Rane to prove his majority on the floor of the House, the petitioner said Mr. Parrikar, on the other hand, was given only 24 hours to prove his majority. This would only show how the Governor had acted in a partisan manner, he said, and sought quashing of the Governor's action.

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