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Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

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Front Page

Goa: NDA threatens to stall Parliament

By Our Staff Reporter

NDA leaders (from left) L.K. Advani, A.B. Vajpayee, Manohar Parrikar, George Fernandes, M.L. Khurana and Vasundhara Raje Scindia at a dharna in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest the dismissal of the BJP Government in Goa. — Photo: S. Subramanium

NEW DELHI, FEB. 8. Continuing their protest against the dismissal of the Manohar Parrikar Government of Goa, The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners today took to the streets, threatening to stall the Parliament proceedings during the budget session against, what they alleged, a conspiracy by the Central Government to oust a duly elected Government.

Led by the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the BJP president, L.K. Advani, the NDA leaders staged a day-long dharna at Jantar Mantar. They accused the United Progressive Alliance Government of orchestrating the dismissal of the Parrikar Government. The BJP is demanding that its government be reinstated and the Governor be recalled and sacked.

The BJP's State units across the country held similar protests. From tomorrow the scene will shift to Goa where for a week the party will stage protests to focus the people's attention on the issue. The party's leader in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh, will lead the protests there.

Senior NDA leaders, including its convener, George Fernandes, and the BJP Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh participated in the dharna here. Mr. Parrikar was also present. The Trinamool Congress, the Akali Dal, the Biju Janata Dal and the Shiv Sena were also represented.

Party leaders said they want to use the Goa issue to "consolidate" not only the NDA but also "other non-Congress parties" and caution them against Congress designs. "This is a larger issue, which is not confined to what happened or will happen in Goa ... the legal alternative will be explored, but we want to fight the issue politically," the party vice-president, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said.

Kalam urged to intervene

Taking part in the protest at the fag end of the day, Mr. Vajpayee urged the President, A.P. J. Abdul Kalam, to intervene and restore the Manohar Parrikar Government. Warning that the NDA would not remain a mute spectator to such "arbitrary" actions of the Centre, Mr. Vajpayee said the nationwide agitation would continue till the BJP-led Government in Goa was re-instated. The dismissal of the Goa Government was a warning to the other non-Congress ruled States, he said.

Mr. Advani said: "The Congress never believed in democracy and this agitation is to save and show the power of democracy." The Goa Governor, S.C.Jamir, had set a "dangerous precedent." The Constitution-framers had never imagined that Article 164, which states that a State government can remain in power only at the pleasure of the Governor, would be misused in such a manner, he said.

He claimed that the direction to dismiss the government was given in advance by the Congress leadership, even before the trial of strength on the floor of the House.The BJP general secretary, Sushma Swaraj, hinted that in the present situation it would not be possible to ensure normal functioning of Parliament during the budget session.

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