In yet another development related to the tussle in the formation of the government in Goa, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Congress’ plea to stay the swearing-in of Manohar Parrikar as the Chief Minister and requested the Governor to call for a floor test on March 16.
The top court directed that the session be convened at 11 a.m. on Thursday and the only agenda of the day should be the floor test which "shall be held as early as possible."
In a late-night development on the day of Holi, the top court agreed to hear an urgent writ petition filed by the Congress challenging the “blatantly unconstitutional action” of Goa State Governor Mridula Sinha to invite Goa BJP legislature party leader Manohar Parrikar as Chief Minister of the State.
The petition accused the Centre of using its political clout to defeat the mandate of the people and grab power by misusing the office of the Governor, who turned a Nelson’s eye on the fact that the Congress party was voted the “single largest party in the State Legislature”. The actions of the Centre and the Governor sound the “death knell for democracy”, the petition said.
The total strength of the State Assembly is 40 seats, with the Congress emerging as the single largest party with 17 members followed by the BJP with 12.
The article was first published in www.thehindu.com