Panaji: The Congress in Goa has renewed its attack on the ruling BJP and reiterated its demand for a floor test, a day after exit polls predicted good showing by the Congress in some of the five states where assembly polls were held recently.
Goa Congress unit president Girish Chodankar also said the ruling party’s act of “usurping” power in Goa in 2017 seems to have worked against it nationally.
He attacked state Governor Mridula Sinha for “allowing” ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to continue in office.
“The unfruitful attempts by Governor Mridula Sinha to allow ailing CM Manohar Parrikar will fetch no gain for the BJP. On the contrary, the Goa fiasco has contributed to the loss of the BJP nationally,” Chodankar told reporters when asked about the prediction made by the exit polls.
Counting of votes for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will be done on December 11. Chodankar said the electoral outcome would serve as a “warning” for the BJP which was “planning to dissolve the state Legislative Assembly in Goa”.
The Congress leader reiterated his party’s demand for a floor test. “The Congress has time and again said that it has the required numbers to form the government and would show it on the floor of the House,” he said while accusing the Parrikar government of taking voters for granted.
“The governance has come to a standstill and secretaries of the chief minister are ruling the state taking advantage of his sickness,” he alleged. Parrikar has been absent from office for long due to failing health.
The government has reportedly declined to specify his health status citing right to privacy. Chodankar said the Congress has launched ‘Jan Akrosh’ rallies in each of 40 constituencies in Goa wherein the party is holding public meetings demanding restoration of “governance” in the state.
In the Goa assembly elections held last year, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the 40-member House but failed to form government.
The BJP went on to form a government with the help of Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Independent MLAs. (PTI)
