Dismiss Goa Governor, Congress urges President after losing trust vote

Panaji: Congress on Friday urged President Pranab Mukherjee to dismiss Goa Governor Mridula Sinha for committing "constitutional impropriety and dereliction of duty".

Sinha had invited Manohar Parrikar, former Defence Minister, to form the government in Goa despite BJP winning less seats than the Congress in the recently concluded Assembly polls. BJP had stitched together an alliance comprising of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Goa Forward Party (GFP), and Independents, to secure a majority of 22 seats in the 40-member Assembly.

On Thursday, Manohar Parrikar, sent back to Goa after demands from the MGP, won a trust vote in the Assembly, with all 22 MLAs voting for him. The motion was opposed by only 16 MLAs, as Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane walked out of the Assembly during the confidence vote.

Congress has called BJP’s action of staking claim to form the government in Goa and Manipur as ‘murder of democracy’. The grand old party had even approached the Supreme Court prior to the Goa trust vote, challenging Parrikar’s appointment as CM.

However, the apex court merely told Parrikar to prove his majority within 2 days, and said his Tuesday swearing in would go ahead. On Thursday, the BJP came back to power in the state despite winning only 13 seats.