World | India Published: 20/2/2005, 07:10 (UAE) Gulf News 20th Feb 2005 Goa chief minister may seek trust vote on Thursday By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent Mumbai: Goa's Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane plans to seek a vote of confidence in the state Assembly on Thursday but is awaiting a letter of approval from Governor S.C. Jamir. "The Governor has not replied to our letter so far," Luizinho Faleiro, President of the Goa Pradesh Cong-ress Committee told Gulf News, as he was returning from a public meeting held in Margao. The meeting, he said, was attended by senior Cong-ress leaders from Delhi such as Margaret Alva, who is in charge of Maharashtra and Goa, Priyaranjan Das Munshi, B. Solanki and Mani Shankar Aiyar. "We only talked about civic issues, the meeting was not a political one. It was attended by other parties, too," he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, had packed off 14 of its MLAs to Jaipur to protect them from other political predators who could woo them off for the crucial vote of confidence. Reportedly, only former chief minister Manohar Parrikar and Goa's BJP President Rajendra Arlekar stayed back in Goa while the rest of the MLAs have been flown to Jaipur from Mumbai and taken to a hideout a private farmhouse on the Jaipur-Ajmer Road. The BJP MLAs will be taken back to Panjim just in time for the state assembly session when the Rane Government will seek a vote of confidence. The original Parrikar government was reduced to a minority when four of its MLAs resigned in favour of the Congress opposition. The Goa assembly was reduced to a house of 36 MLAs with an equal number on both sides. Parrikar sought a vote of confidence and won, but he was dismissed by the Governor and Rane was sworn in on February 2. It has to be whether the new chief minister can muscle up more strength to stay in power or the BJP attempts to come back to power. For a state that has a history of unstable governments that have regularly fallen, this month will see another political drama. Meanwhile, BJP MLAs are likely to meet Indian President A.P.J. Kalam to appeal against the sacking of its government by the state Governor. Last week, Parrikar also moved the Supreme Court challenging the legality of Jamir's decision to dismiss his government within hours of winning a trust vote in the Assembly. The manner in which Parrikar won the trust vote is also a subject of controversy. His petition in the supreme court terms the Governor's decision as "partisan". ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/5F6XtA/.WnJAA/E2hLAA/0FHolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> http://www.goa-world.com http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music http://www.mahableshwar.com/ Addresses: Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL to this page: http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
