Cong claims majority in Goa, wants Parrikar to step down
New Delhi, Oct 13: Accusing the BJP of acting "power hungry" in Goa, the Congress on Saturday demanded that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar step down and it be allowed to prove majority by convening a special session of the state assembly.
Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Goa PCC chief Girish Chodankar claimed that the BJP is not removing Parrikar from the chief minister's post fearing that he might "spill the beans" on the Rafale fighter jet deal.
The opposition party also accused the BJP of "betraying" the people of Goa and "killing governance" in the state.
"Power hungry BJP first murdered democracy in Goa and is now killing Governance there. The clamour for power has cemented a corrupt, callous and cheat BJP to the CM Chair in Goa. The BJP has no constitutional right to continue in power in Goa, even for a single day," said Khera.
The opposition party alleged that the BJP "usurped" power in Goa through backdoor. "People of Goa had given the mandate to the Congress. Governor Mridula Sinha should listen to the voice of people of Goa and opposition parties and allow us to prove our numbers on the floor of the House.
"A special session of the Goa Assembly should be immediately convened and there should be a floor test. This will clear all doubts about who is in-charge in Goa and who has the rightful claim to head a democratic government," Chodankar said.
He claimed the Congress has a majority in Goa and added that "Goans deserve a full time chief minister and to ensure democracy and constitutional functioning, a floor test is imperative".
At the same time, he added "no constitutional morality can be expected from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah because they are drunk with power".
Replying to a query, he said as the Defence Minister, Parrikar must have had a lot of information on the Rafale deal.
"So we have no doubt that the moment the Prime Minister and the BJP President pressure him or demand his resignation or they try to remove him, Manohar Parrikar will not keep quiet, he will reveal all the secret information, important information, which can expose our Prime Minister," he claimed.
Khera said the Congress has been demanding that the Goa Governor convene a one-day special session so that it can ask the government to prove majority.
"The moment we get the first opportunity, we will prove it and we will show we can form the government. Today itself if you call the session that I am here, we will be able to prove majority in the assembly," he claimed.
Wishing Parrikar a speedy recovery and long life, he said his ailment cannot be an impediment to the aspirations of the people of Goa as people of the state want governance, administration and progress.
"Instead of taking Cabinet meetings in AIIMS Delhi, Parrikar should show moral righteousness and voluntarily step down from his post, and get ready for a floor test," he said.
Khera alleged that the "state is headless, governance is paralyzed, administration is crippled, there is complete breakdown of authority, rule of law has collapsed, people are feeling cheated with absolutely no policy and direction and Goa is in chaos".
Parrikar, who is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment in New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), held meetings with party leaders as well as allies on Friday to discuss ways to ensure that his government functions normally.
He is expected to shed "many" of his portfolios after Dussehra, according to ministers who met him.
But Khere said, "This desperate drama of holding a cabinet meeting in AIIMS and playing musical chairs with the portfolio of ministers is the last straw and is akin to rubbing salt on wounds of people of Goa."
In the 40-member state assembly, the Parrikar government has the support of 23 MLAs. These comprise 14 BJP MLAs, three each from the Goa Forward Party and MGP as well as three Independents. The opposition Congress is the single largest party in the Goa assembly with 16 MLAs.
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Who Crossed the Line in Davanagere?
If one closely observes the developments taking place within the state Congress camp after the by-elections, it becomes clear that in trying to justify one mistake as “right,” its leaders are only creating more mistakes. These by-elections, by themselves, are not capable of having any major impact on the state government. However, due to the missteps taken by Congress leaders, these elections have not remained confined to Davanagere and Bagalkot but have begun affecting the entire state unit of the party.
In Davanagere, the wounds the party inflicted upon itself have now worsened and started spreading like poison to other regions. Already, the AHINDA community, which feels it has been denied justice in ticket distribution, is hurting. Congress leaders are now adding salt to those wounds one after another. They are attempting to shift the burden of their own mistakes onto minority leaders and escape accountability. By putting those who have faced social injustice in the dock, branding them as anti-party elements, and attempting to politically isolate them, the Congress seems to be inviting a backlash.
If a socially and economically backward community, which forms the largest population in Davanagere, asking for a ticket is considered anti-party activity, then what meaning remains in the repeated claim of “social justice” that Siddaramaiah often speaks about? This is the question being raised by the AHINDA sections of the state. At the same time, the Congress has not clearly explained what social circumstances justify giving the ticket to the family of late Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
The Shamanur family, which belongs to the Lingayat community, may have made significant contributions to the Congress party. But the party, in return, has already given them enough positions and recognition. Now, asking minority and Dalit communities in Davanagere to sacrifice their opportunity for the sake of this family, and branding minority leaders who question this as anti-party, reflects poorly on the party’s approach.
Shamanur Shivashankarappa passed away as a sitting MLA. His son is already an MLA and has served as a minister. His daughter-in-law has been elected as a Member of Parliament from the Congress. Given the positions already held by the family, giving a ticket to a minority candidate would have been justified in every sense. If not, the Congress could have chosen a candidate from the Dalit community, which is the second-largest in Davanagere. Instead, by imposing an inexperienced grandson of Shamanur on senior Congress leaders in the region, the party leadership has effectively committed an act of betrayal.
Even after making such a serious mistake, the leadership is now attempting to cover it up by putting minority leaders in the dock, initiating inquiries, and using suspensions and expulsions to intimidate minority Congress leaders and workers. This reflects the depth of decline the Congress has reached in the state. People are beginning to wonder whether Surjewala and others are trying to rebuild the Congress in Karnataka by excluding minorities and Dalits altogether.
Even after deciding to give the ticket to Shamanur’s grandson, it was the responsibility of the Congress leadership to take local minority leaders into confidence and involve them in the campaign. However, minority leaders themselves have said that no one approached them or tried to persuade them to participate. This clearly shows the dismissive attitude that both the Shamanur family and the party leadership hold towards minority leaders and workers. Rather than saying minority leaders did not participate in the campaign, it would be more accurate to say that the leadership ensured they were kept out of it.
In connection with the developments in Davanagere, the party high command has announced disciplinary action against two leaders. Even in a court of law, when a death sentence is pronounced, the reasons for the punishment are clearly stated. Here, minority leaders are asking why they are being punished. They have raised several questions, and it is the responsibility of the Congress leadership to answer them.
When late Shamanur Shivashankarappa publicly called upon voters to ensure the victory of BJP leader Yediyurappa’s son, it was not seen as anti-party activity. When Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah insisted that the caste census report must be implemented, Shamanur opposed it, yet even then it was not treated as anti-party behaviour. No suspensions or expulsions followed. Instead, his grandson has now been rewarded with a ticket.
But today, minority leaders who merely asked for a ticket for their community are being branded as anti-party and targeted for punishment. When they say they were not invited to campaign, the leadership should have questioned Minister Mallikarjun and his son as to why they failed to involve them. Instead, those who raised the complaint are being treated as the accused.
There is also talk that the Shamanur family had threatened to shift completely to the BJP if the ticket was not given to them, and that the leadership gave in to this pressure. If this is true, why is such a threat not considered anti-party activity? Why are minority leaders, who remained silent even after being denied a ticket, now being targeted as anti-party elements?
The Congress leadership must answer these questions. Only then will it become clear who actually crossed the lines set by the high command in Davanagere.
In conclusion, there is little doubt that the mistakes committed by the Congress leadership during the Davanagere by-election will cost the party dearly in the upcoming Assembly elections.
