Goa Congress stakes claim to form govt, says can prove majority

The Goa Congress, which has demanded dismissal of the Manohar Parrikar government in the state, met Governor Mridula Sinha to present their case on Tuesday. The meeting began at 6.30pm

The opposition Congress had on Monday requested for time to meet the governor to discuss their representation that accuses the state government was “unable to function and governance has come to a standstill”.

The Congress’s move came amidst concerns over the health of 62-year-old Parrikar, who has visited the United States thrice in seven months for treatment. He is suffering from a pancreatic ailment.

“If given an opportunity, we will prove the majority on the floor of the house”, said former chief minister Digambar Kamat.

Kamat, however, did not elaborate how his party hoped to get to the halfway mark in the state’s assembly.

Also read | The Goa arithmetic: What is happening in Manohar Parikkar’s absence and why

With 16 of the 40 seats in the assembly, the Congress is the state’s single-largest party. But the BJP, which has 14 seats, stitched an alliance with regional players Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which have three seats each, after the elections last year. The majority mark in the assembly 21.

The coalition received the support of three independent members of the House, and formed the government. The other seat is held by the Nationalist Congress Party, a Congress ally.

Apart from Parrikar, two other ministers in his team — urban development minister Francis D’Souza and power minister Pandurang Madkaikar — are also undergoing treatment for other ailments.

“Such an impasse cannot be allowed to permeate. The government should be dismissed and we should be given an opportunity,” Chandrakant Kavlekar, the Congress legislature party chief, had told the governor in one of the two letters submitted to Mridula Sinha’s office.