Parrikar wins trust vote
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 09 November 2000 13:59 ISTIt was a smooth sailing for Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who won the trust vote today evening merely by voice vote with no opposition member demanding division vote.
The BJP had formed the government, third one in last 11 months, on 24 October after withdrawing from a coalition government led by Francisco Sardinha, who had split from the then ruling Congress in November last year.
The then 10-member BJP however withdrew itself from the coalition after eight members from two different splinter groups joined the saffron party including then opposition leader Ravi Naik, who is the deputy chief minister today.
Though this had risen BJP's strength to only 18 in the 40-member House, the Parrikar cabinet has one minister from the two-member Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, which indicated clearly that the BJP's first CM in Goa enjoys active support of 20.
Close on the heels of it, on Tuesday, two more MLAs from the four-member splinter group which had split further from Sardinha-led Goan Peoples' Congress, also joined the BJP, raising the BJP's strength to 20.
This helped Parrikar to win the trust vote without any tension while his government is also supported by four other members. Two of them, belonging to the GPC's splinter group, however did not attend the session today, probably fearing division vote.
While replying to the four-hour long debate, Parrikar announced that he will prove himself in the winter Assembly session within 45 days. "My government will have no place for any kind of corrupt practices either in administrative functioning or while employing new recruits", he claimed.
He has already suspended two senior officials including the state excise commissioner for their shady deals, besides one police inspector for protecting eve teasers at one tourist spot in deep forest. "There are more surprises to come", said Parrikar.
Dr Wilfred de Souza, the sole NCP member and former chief minister, urged all the members in the House today to come together and find out a viable solution to stop the political tamasha, which has defamed the tiny tourist state all over the world.
After 10 years of instability the tourist state witnessed since 1990 by electing two hung Assemblies, the peace-loving Goans had elected the Congress with absolute majority of 21 in the Assembly polls held in June last year.
But the game of defections continued with the strength of the Congress rising to 26, before its government collapsed after 11 legislators led by Sardinha split. It is reduced to mere five today while the third government led by the BJP is being formed.
Three groups consisting of nine former Congressmen have already merged into the BJP while three other former Congressmen are supporting the Hindutva government from outside. This has left hardly 13 MLAs in the opposition, belonging to different factions of the Congress, including the original Congress and the NCP.