Willy corners Guv's office
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 23 November 1998 12:24 ISTThe possibility of deciding the fate of Dr Wilfred de Souza's coalition government on 26 November, as decided at the all-party meeting yesterday, appears bleak as today's cabinet meeting preferred to corner the governor's office on the decision rather than recommending to prepone the Assembly session.
State opposition leader Luizinho Faleiro, who has now staked a claim to form the Congress government with a wafer-thin majority of 21 in the 40-member House, in protest announced breaking of the pact. He rushed to the governor demanding immediate convening of the session.
An all-party meeting had yesterday decided to prepone the earlier date of 2 December of winter session to 26 November, where de Souza was supposed to move a confidence motion. But instead of officially recommending for a fresh date, today's cabinet meeting resolved that the governor's action was an unprecedented one.
Governor Lt Gen (Retd) J F R Jacob, after de Souza's arrival from London yesterday afternoon, had convened the all-party meeting to decide upon the claim staked by the Congress to form the government, following five ruling members switching over to the opposition.
While refusing to move a confidence motion stating that his government is not gone into minority, Dr Willy has now taken a stand that the opposition should rather move a no-confidence motion. "I can prove the majority on the floor of the House", he reiterated.
To justify its stand, the cabinet has cited the West Bengal case of November 1967, the sole one in the Indian history, when the then United Front government had gone into a minority in a similar manner. The government had refused to accept governor's recommendation to prepone the session from 18 December to 23 November, due to which the governor had then dismissed the government.
While criticising governor's decision, the presiding officers' conference in April 1968 had felt that the governor precipitated the matter by insisting on preponing the scheduled date of the session when the interval was hardly 25 days.
The meet had also resolved to develop a convention that the chief minister would decide date of the session in consultation with the speaker while also considering governor's suggestion for an alternate date, subject to final decision by the cabinet. It was also made mandatory for the CM to advise the governor to summon the session within a week if summoning of the House was delayed while majority members want to discuss a no-confidence motion.
Citing the precedence from Kaul and Shakdher on Practices and Procedures of Parliament, de Souza felt it not necessary to prepone the session since nobody has moved the no-confidence motion till date. Faleiro, while declining to comment on his plans to move the motion, however felt that de Souza should immediately resign in such a situation.
De Souza also points out that the difference between two dates of the session here is only seven days compared to 25 days in West Bengal case. "But we will abide by the governor's decision if he still insists for Thursday", he states. Rather than refusing to prepone the session, it appears that de Souza is hinting the Raj Bhavan to instruct the Congress to move a no-confidence motion.
However, neither de Souza nor his constituents like the MGP or the BJP have any objection to moving a confidence motion. "But the governor should not set a new precedence once again", he comments, while also recalling that he had proved his majority just three months ago.
While eyes are now set once again at the Cabo Raj Bhavan with a new turn crisis has taken, hectic activity is still on in the ruling coalition camp to move out two independents from the Congress camp. De Souza claims that all three independents as well as four Congressmen would vote in his favour during the floor-test.
