PMO misusing Intelligence Bureau for political gains in Goa: Congress

The Congress in Goa on Monday accused the Prime Minister's Office of misusing the Intelligence Bureau to pressurise ruling alliance partner MGP to continue with its alliance with the BJP and demanded President's Rule in the state.

State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro called for the dissolution of the assembly and imposition of President's Rule, saying he feared further misuse of government agencies to pressurise the opposition as well as disgruntled ruling alliance leaders ahead of the 2017 assembly polls in the state.

"The PMO is misusing the IB to pressurise the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party to continue its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa. Even the state MGP President has told the media that IB officials met him and told him to stick to the alliance following PMO instruction...," Faleiro said, quoting a report in a national daily on Monday.

"We want the assembly's dissolution and imposition of President's Rule to ensure level playing field ahead of elections," he added.

"The Intelligence Bureau's misuse, confirmed by MGP state President Deepak Dhavalikar, shows that both the state and the central governments are overtly using state and central agencies to harass politicians," Faleiro said.

Leaders of the MGP and the BJP, part of the alliance government in Goa since 2012, have been exchanging bitter comments about each other in recent months.

While the MGP has accused Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar of poor leadership and taking Goa back by 10 years, Parsekar has asked MGP ministers to resign from his coalition government.

While the BJP has 21 legislators in the 40-member assembly, the MGP has three, two of them cabinet ministers. The elections to the state assembly are likely to be held in early 2017.

--IANS

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