Kamat wins scary BJP challenge in Goa
By Frederick Noronha, IANS
Panaji : Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat clung to power by surviving a confidence vote Monday, after three legislators were disallowed from voting and the speaker gave his casting vote to save the government.
Before the vote, Speaker Pratapsing Rane, a long-term Congressman, restrained three legislators who had switched sides last week from voting in the house and taking part in its proceedings.
This led to protests by opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, the BJP strongman who cobbled together an alliance last week with the hope of becoming chief minister again.
Parrikar protested saying the speaker had violated Governor S.C. Jamir's fiat to take up the confidence vote as the first business of the day. He accused the government of altering the composition of the assembly.
Rane asked him under which section of law was he raising a point of order.
The opposition protest was brushed aside, leading frustrated BJP members to storm out and march to the governor's residence along with a large number of BJP supporters.
Speaker Rane's casting vote saved the assembly after both sides were tied in the 40-member assembly, each having 18 members (apart from the speaker and three disallowed from voting).
The three disqualified were the Dhavalikar brothers - Sudin and Deepak Dhavalikar - both representing the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, and Victoria Fernandes, who sought to resign from the Congress last week.
They were served a notice that is to come up for a hearing Aug 13. But while this could send out the signal that the Congress has won the day, the thin majority it is surviving on makes it prone to instability as invite controversy over the manner in which it won the vote.
Political developments last week saw the Congress-led government reduced to a minority after its coalition partner, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, and an independent legislator, Anil Salgaocar, withdrew their support.
Parrikar had requested the governor to direct the speaker to conduct a floor test Monday.
In 2005 too, instability in the Goa assembly saw a bitter series of disqualification battles, which only made the fight for power even more intense.