The Congress on Monday staked claim to form the government in Goa even as the ruling BJP-led coalition alliance looks for a new leader to replace ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who is undergoing treatment in AIIMS, Delhi.
Sixteen Congress MLAs submitted a letter to Governor Mridula Sinha’s office, at the Raj Bhavan, demanding that she should not dissolve the Assembly and Congress being the single largest party should be invited to form the government in the state.
However, Congress MLA could not meet the governor as she is out of the state.
In the letter, the party has requested the Governor that the government should not be dissolved. They have also asked her not to impose President’s Rule or keep the House in suspended animation.
For the fourth time, the Congress has staked claim to power in Goa since emerging as the single-largest party in Assembly elections last year.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has ruled out a change in leadership in Goa, saying Parrikar was doing fine.
BJP president Amit Shah has sent three senior members of the party — Ram Lal, B L Santhosh, and Vinay Puranik — to Goa to take stock of the political situation in the state.
Parrikar has been admitted to the AIIMS for follow-up treatment reportedly for a pancreatic ailment.
The 62-year-old is running the BJP-led government with the help of two regional allies — the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) — and three Independents.
Previously, alliance partners had asked the BJP’s central observers to a provide a permanent solution to the situation arising out of Parrikar’s illness and his absence from day-to-day administrative work.
