Congress demands day's session for Goa floor test

The Congress on Thursday demanded a one-day session of the Goa Assembly to enable the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government to prove its majority on the floor of the House.

Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar told the media: "We asked the Governor numerous times to direct the government to prove a fresh majority. We have not received a single response from the Governor's office.

"If the government is not scared and they have the numbers, there should not be any reason to avoid a floor test.

"Why cannot they have a one day session to prove their strength," Kavlekar said here.

The Congress leader also alleged that his party was yet to receive any response from the Speaker's office about the rejection of its notice seeking Speakar Pramod Sawant's removal.

Commenting on Speaker Sawant's rejection of a notice issued by 16 Congress MLAs seeking to move a motion for Sawant's removal from the post, Kavlekar said: "We learnt about it from social media. We have not got anything officially...".

Sawant on Wednesday had said that the notice given in September by Congress lawmakers seeking his removal was "not maintainable".

The Goa political crisis began after ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. He was airlifted to the national capital's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in September.

Two ailing ministers Urban Development Minister Francis D'Souza, who is being treated for cancer in New York, and Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar, who suffered a brain stroke earlier in 2018 were replaced by BJP MLAs Milind Naik and Nilesh Cabral, respectively in September.

Parrikar's absence has led to allied parties, the Goa Forward and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, demanding a bigger share of portfolios, with some leaders even eyeing the Chief Minister's post.

--IANS

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