Cong move to stake claim to form govt in Goa a stunt: BJP MP

The BJP today termed the Congress' move to stake claim to form a government in Goa as a "political stunt" to "keep its flock together" and to "cover up" its electoral reverses.

The Congress had, earlier during the day, met Goa Governor Mridula Sinha staking claim to form the government since it was the single largest party in the state Legislative Assembly.

The party, which has 16 MLAs in the 40-member House, had said that the Governor must follow the precedent set by her Karnataka counterpart who invited the single largest party (BJP) to form the government there.

"It (staking claim) is merely a political stunt by the Congress. It appears to be an attempt to keep its flock together," Narendra Sawaikar, the BJPs South Goa Lok Sabha MP, said while addressing a press conference today.

Hitting out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, the BJP MP claimed that the party had lost all elections since 2014 and alleged that such "political stunts" (of staking claim to form the government) were being adopted to cover up these failures.

He said that people would not fall for such tricks, adding that the BJP-led Union government was getting support from the masses due to its developmental policies.