PANAJI
The Congress party belatedly called on the Governor Mridula Sinha on Wednesday, even as by mid morning the news trickled out that the Supreme Court had declined their request for a stay on the swearing-in process on grounds that they should be invited to form the government.
The 17 MLAs remained united and travelled together in a bus from the Congress headquarters in Panaji to the Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula, despite repeated rumours that they were facing a split. They put up a brave face and claimed that they had a majority and that they would prove it on Thursday on the floor of the house come Thursday.
Led by party’s central observer Digvijaya Singh, the party lamented the failure of the Governor to invite them to form the government and an opportunity to prove that they have the majority.
“We explained to the Governor that despite being the single largest party after being given the mandate by the people of Goa, we were not invited to form the government. This is not just an injustice to the Congress party, but injustice to the people of Goa,” Congress Legislature Party leader Chandrakant “Babu” Kavlekar said.
He shot down the suggestion that the party delayed in approaching the Governor, pointing out that that they had written to the Governor the very next day no sooner did the mandate become clear.
“We should be given an opportunity to prove our majority on the floor of the house. This has been denied to us,” Kavlekar said, adding that they ‘requested’ the Governor to reconsider her decision on not calling the single largest party to form the government.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had a meeting of the Congress legislature party, and despite initially promising to meet the Governor at 10 in the morning, the Governor called them only at 1:30 in the evening.
State party president Luizinho Faleiro blamed the delay in announcing results for failing to hold a meeting of the
CLP earlier.
“We had given a letter to the Governor no sooner did the mandate become clear. We wrote to her on March 12. We could not meet on the same day as some results were declared only after 6:30 in the evening. Though we are not supposed to, the established mandate is that the single largest party be invited to form the government,” Faleiro said, adding that they made it sure that the Congress is the single largest party.
Faleiro also said that the result was clearly in favour of the Congress party and that they were against the ruling BJP party, pointing out that seven ministers lost at the hustings and the chief minister lost by more than 7,000 votes.
“Inviting any party who have a post-poll alliance and who did not have a pre-poll alliance is amounting to defeating the people’s mandate,” Faleiro stated, and claimed that the party had written on three separate occasions asking her to invite the single largest party in the State.
“We are happy with the SC verdict and we have got majority and we will prove it on the floor of the house. All we need is an invitation to form the government as part of the established practice,” Faleiro said, adding that he didn’t wish to name those who are going to support them as they “might be raided by the
income tax”.
