Goa Congress MLAs urge Governor to follow Karnataka precedent

Congress party leaders including leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar and party MLAs on Friday called on Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and urged her to follow the immediate precedent set by Governor Vajubhai Vala in Karnataka and invite the Congress in Goa, as the largest party to form the government.

The Congress Legislative Party(CLP) has 16 MLAs in the Goa legislative assembly currently. Mr. Kavlekar was accompanied by 13 MLAs as two MLAs are not in the state and one MLA is in hospital at the moment, said party spokesperson Siddnath Buyao.

Coming out of the meeting with the Governor at Raj Bhavan, CLP leader Kavlekar told presspersons that a representation had been submitted to the Governor, requesting her to “right the past wrong” of inviting the BJP to form the government in Goa in March 2017, and now invite the 16-member Congress legislative party to form the government instead.

“We have asked her to do what the Karnataka Governor has done recently and invite the Congress as the single largest party to form the government in Goa. This current government has to be dismissed,” said Mr. Kavlekar.

He asserted that the Congress in Goa was capable of forming a government and prove its majority in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly, if it was invited to do so by Ms. Sinha.

“She has told us that she will respond to our letter in two days,” Mr. Kavlekar said.

The BJP had won 13 seats in the February 2017 state assembly election as against 17 won by the Congress, which had emerged as the single largest party in the 40-member house. The BJP staked the claim to power with two regional outfits and independent MLAs, and formed a coalition government after getting a prompt nod from Ms. Sinha.

Subsequently, a Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane quit the party after he remained absent on the floor of the House defying the party whip when Mr. Parrikar took a vote of confidence and joined the BJP to become a Minister, taking the BJP’s strength to 14.

At present, the BJP-led alliance has a strength of 23 legislators,with 14 from the BJP, three each from regional parties Goa Forward and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and three Independents. The Opposition comprises 16 of the Congress and one NCP member.