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Journalism of Courage
PANAJI, NOV 26: In a day of dramatic developments, Congress leader in Goa Assembly Luizinho Faleiro was tonight sworn in as Chief Minister by Governor Lt Gen J F R Jacob. This follows Wilfred D8217;Souza8217;s resignation in the early hours, ahead of trust vote.
Dayanand Narvekar, who broke away from the Goa Rajiv Congress, to topple the three-and-a-half month old Government led by Dr Wilfred D8217;Souza, was also sworn in.
According to a Raj Bhavan communique, Faleiro has been given 21 days to obtain a vote of confidence. Faleiro is likely to announce his Cabinet by Friday.
The Chief Minister told mediapersons that three MLAs from the D8217;Souza-led group were supporting his bid. Since Faleiro8217;s party enjoys a wafer-thin majority of one Legislator, speculations are rife that the stage is set for horse trading.
Earlier in the day, outgoing Chief Minister D8217;Souza told mediapersons that he enjoyed the support of four Legislators from the rival camp and would have won the trust vote. 8220;But I did not want to destroytheir future as the Speaker would have disqualified them for defying the party whip,8221; he said. D8217;Souza also said that the crisis broke out since he had forwarded corruption cases against a few people to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Yesterday, D8217;Souza threw a red-herring at his rivals by calling on the Governor at 7.30 pm. With no resignation coming in till midnight, it was taken for granted that the Chief Minister would face the House on Thursday morning. However, a little after midnight D8217;Souza surprised everybody by submitting his resignation.
In the 40-member Assembly, the Congress has the support of 21 MLAs including the Speaker, who is not allowed to vote in normal circumstances. The Goa Rajiv Congress-BJP-MGP combine claims the support of 19 Legislators.
