Three musketeers running govt: Cong

Panaji: The Congress on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led coalition government and questioned the constitutional validity of a three-member committee to run the state government in the absence of chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
Saying that the government was being “held hostage” by Parrikar, Congress state president Shantaram Naik said a trust deficit had prompted Parrikar to appoint “three musketeers” to take policy decisions.

“The entire government is held hostage for one individual,” Naik told reporters at the Congress office. “Parrikar has deserted Goa and has kept three ministers in charge because he does not trust anybody. This means that at any given time, there are three chief ministers to take policy decisions. I call them three musketeers.”

Parrikar left for Mumbai on Monday afternoon for treatment and is expected to be out of the state for six to eight weeks.

The Congress has repeatedly demanded that the BJP must be transparent about the health status of Parrikar and has asked for Parrikar’s powers to be delegated to a stand-in chief minister. Naik said the constitution and rules of business of Goa government had no provision for formation of a three-member council advisory committee. “Has he amended, modified, changed the rules of business?” Naik asked. “This is a fraud on the administration.”

The former Rajya Sabha MP also took a dig at the BJP, especially BJP state president Vinay Tendulkar who had, on Sunday, insisted that Parrikar was in good health and would chair the cabinet meeting on March 7 .

The entire government is held hostage for one individual. Parrikar has deserted Goa and has kept three ministers in charge because he does not trust anybody