Cong seeks Goa Governors recall

NEW DELHI, JULY 30: The Congress today demanded immediate recall of the Goa Governor for dismissing Pratapsinh Rane Government, accusing ...

NEW DELHI, JULY 30: The Congress today demanded immediate recall of the Goa Governor for dismissing Pratapsinh Rane Government, accusing him of being party to a quot;pre-meditatedquot; plan initiated by the Centre and hinted it might move the Court as the decision amounted to quot;rape of democracy.quot;

Reacting sharply to Goa developments, party general secretary Madhavrao Scindia said what Governor J F R Jacob had done was quot;yet another example of misuse of the Raj Bhavan and office of the Governor by BJP.quot;

quot;We are examining all options, including approaching a court,quot; he told reporters when asked whether it planned to challenge the Governors decision and whether the party proposed to meet President K R Narayanan on the issue.

Describing the Governors action as quot;misuse of constitutional authority and totally violative of all normsquot;, Scindia alleged the Vajpayee Government had a hand in the developments. quot;No one will believe the Home Ministry has nothing to do with this.quot;

He also alleged Wilfred De Souza, the newChief Minister, was in the Raj Bhavan for several hours on July 28 along with a battery of lawyers.

quot;We do not believe in political stunts,quot; Scindia said when asked whether party president Sonia Gandhi would undertake a hunger strike as was done by Atal Behari Vajpayee after dismissal of the Kalyan Singh Government in Uttar Pradesh early this year.

Scindia alleged quot;information inputquot; was coming from the Centre when the Governor took the decision. quot;This is a pre-meditated thing initiated by the Centre,quot; he said, adding the BJP had set a quot;dangerous example.quot;

Story continues below this ad

Expressing surprise over Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana8217;s reported statement that the dismissal of the Rane Government was a quot;personal decision of the Governorquot;, he said this stretched all limits of credibility.

He said it was quot;unfortunate and tragic that the Governor gave only 90 minutes to Rane to prove his majority while his quot;favoured one De Souza was given 21 days.quot;

Scindia said despite Rane proving his majority within thedeadline, the Governor dismissed him and installed De Souza in his place.

The AICC general secretary said the letter written by the Governor to the Assembly Speaker on July 28 indicated Jacob had a quot;prior planquot; to dismiss the Government.

Story continues below this ad

Scindia dismissed charges by rebel Congressmen that he as party general secretary in-charge of the State deliberately did not pay heed to their grievances and never gave them a hearing.

quot;De Souza was up to the diabolical plan to somehow become the Chief Minister,quot; he said.

Scindia said all the ten MLAs who broke away from the party were expelled on July 27.

He said after expulsion of these MLAs, the party admitted MLAs of the regional party headed by former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao.