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Wednesday, Aug 01, 2007
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Goa: scene shifts to New Delhi

Prakash Kamat

Parrikar seeks hearing with President

PANAJI: After five days of hectic political manoeuvring by rival political factions claiming majority, which culminated in a controversial floor test that failed to clear the political instability in the State, the political scene has now shifted to New Delhi.

Leader of the Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manohar Parrikar, who is aggrieved over Speaker Pratapsingh Rane’s role in the State Assembly on Monday, flew to New Delhi on Tuesday evening taking with him the MLAs supporting him to seek a hearing with President Pratibha Patil.

Asked by the Governor to conduct a floor test for the beleaguered Congress-led Government on Monday, Mr. Rane, a senior Congress leader, allowed the Government to sail through troubled waters by restraining three MLAs from taking part in voting through a controversial ex-parte ad interim relief order passed by him against them half-an-hour ahead of the proceedings in response to disqualification petitions filed against them by the Congress legislators.

Two of the legislators belonging to the regional outfit of the MGP have changed their allegiance from the ruling Congress to the BJP-led alliance, which presently claims the majority support of 20 in a truncated House of 39, as against 18 of the ruling side. The lone woman Congress legislator Victoria Fernandes, who had earlier submitted her resignation, was not present in the House on Monday.

Questioning the validity of the floor test, the BJP-led Opposition described the floor test as a “sham” and accused the Speaker of being partisan and sought the intervention of Governor S.C. Jamir. Mr. Parrikar, who is heading the 20-member alliance (ahead of the Speaker’s ruling) has demanded that the Government be dismissed and he be called upon to form an alternative Government.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, who insisted that he won the floor test and claimed that the Opposition did not seek division fearing a depletion in their number on the floor of the House, left for Delhi on Tuesday morning along with some of his senior Ministerial colleagues to brief the high command about the happenings on the floor of the House on Monday.

Sources in the BJP said GDA members would meet the President again and parade their strength and brief her probably on Thursday to seek her intervention.

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