GOA, OCT 21: The Bharatiya Janata Party pulled the rug from under the Goa People's Congress Party (GPCP) government of Fransisco Sardinha, throwing Goa into another familiar political crisis. The move came at a time when Sardinha is on an official tour to Australia and Governor Mohammad Faizal is in Delhi.In what can easily be summarised as another addition to the case law of the 10th schedule of the Constitution, popularly called the Anti-Defection Law, the BJP ordered all three of its ministers in the Fransisco Sardinha government to resign to pull it down and then poached four MLAs each from the Congress and the Shaikh Hassan faction of the Congress to be in position to form the next governt. The BJP now has the support of 18 MLAs in the 40 member house. The BJP Legislature Party leader Manohar Parrikar also claimed the support of the two-member Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and one Independent thus cobbling up the magic figure of 21 required to govern the state.When Sardinha broke away with 11 MLAs from the Congress some months ago, the BJP with its ten MLAs propped him up. After today's floor-crossings, the strength in the House is: GPCP 11, BJP 18, Congress 6, Shaikh Hassan Congress 1, MGP 2, NCP 1 and Ind. 1.CLP leader Ravi Naik, who led the revolt against the Congress party and walked into the BJP with three other prominent leaders, claimed the party in the state was being held to ransom by unit president Luizinho Faleiro.Justifying his leap across the vast ideological barrier, Naik was more than a bit brazen: ``My criticism of the BJP in election meetings was a game and being a sportsman I had just played the game.''All attention will now be rivetted on Governor Mohammad Faizal, specially in light of his earlier statement that would not allow an unstable coalition to stake claim because the if the BJP is allowed to form government now, it would have a majority of just one and even the independent can cause its downfall. Two successive governments (before Sardinha) have earlier suffered such a fate at the hands of Independents.The BJP's turnaround against Sardinha is also incomprehensible because it had just chosen to fight the recent municipal elections in alliance with Sardinha's Goa People's Congress Party. However, Manohar Parrikar speaking to ENS recalled that he was voicing displeasure with the Sardinha govt in the last four weeks especially with regard to extension given to the Silva commission, floating of bonds worth Rs 150 crore by the Economic Development Corporation and the waste of revenue in the ongoing Australia tour of the Chief Minister.Expressing confidence of forming the Govt in the BJP's maiden attempt to directly benefit from defection, Parrikar said he was in the process of consultation with his central leadership and would be communicating the leadership decision to the public and his colleagues tomorrow.The four MLAs of the Ravi Naik faction of the Congress who joined the BJP are Ravi Naik, Ramakant Khalap, Sanjay Baudekar and Manohar Asgaonkar. The four MLAs of the Shaikh Hassan faction of the Congress whose support Parrikar has also claimed are Shaikh Hassan, Parakash Velip, Filipe Nesi Rodrigues and Jose Philip De Souza. This group had earlier defected from the Congress and formed a separate group in the house ostensibly to oppose what they had then termed as dictatorial attitude of Luizinho Faleirio.Both the Governor and the Chief Minister are expected back in Goa on Sunday.
