BJP-led Goa coalition government won't last full term: Congress

The BJP-led coalition in the state will not last the full term, Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said on Thursday, adding that the Congress bloc of 16 legislators was intact and will work as an effective opposition.

"This government will not stay in power for the full term. This current government has been founded on deceit and will not last the distance," Kavlekar told reporters, after a meeting of the Congress state executive committee in Panaji.

Asked if more Congress lawmakers are expected to quit the party on the lines of Valpoi legislator Vishwajit Rane, who resigned from the party earlier this month, Kavlekar said: "None of our 16 MLAs will leave the party. All of them are intact."

The Congress won 17 seats in the February 4 state assembly polls and emerged as the single largest party, and the Bharatiya Janata party won 13 seats.

The BJP, however, managed to cobble together a coalition government with support from independent lawmakers and regional parties. The Congress alleged horse-trading and accused Goa Governor Mridula Sinha of being biased towards the BJP, after she invited former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, now Chief Minister, to form a government.

--IANS

maya/sm/vt