Congress-led Kamat Govt faces its trial of strength tomorrow

Panaji, July 29 (UNI) The fate of the 53-day-old Congress-led coalition government, headed by Digambar Kamat, will be decided tomorrow when it goes for the crucial trial of strength on the floor of the Goa Legislative Assembly amid tight security.

While the nascent anti-Congress coalition of the BJP-led 'Goa Democratic Alliance' claims it had a strength of 20 members in the 39-member House, the Congress maintained it was ''firm on its saddle'' with enough strength to prove its majority.

Battlelines were thus drawn between the two dispensations in the Assembly, which had also the responsibility of adopting the financial bill before Tuesday to avoid constitutional crisis as the 4-month vote-on-account budget for the current fiscal ends this month-end.

Instability, the hallmark of Goan brand politics since it attained statehood in 1987, witnessing change of 16 chief ministers so far, continued to dog the state with the mature and highly educated electorate giving a fractured mandate and smaller regional parties playing the ''trump card'' all through.

Political crises and turncoat politics had resulted in the beleagured state experiencing the President's Rule five times since its liberation from the Portuguese in 1961. It was imposed for three times after Goa attained statehood on May 30, 1987.

In the current bout, the Kamat-led government which took reins on June 8, after the June 2 elections to the 40-member House, was reduced to a ''minority'' following resignation of the lone woman Congress legislator Victoria Fernandes on July 26 and withdrawal of support by 2-members of MGP and an independent from the 23-member coalition government.

BJP opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, who is an elected leader of the GDA, averred that the combined strength of the government was reduced to 18 -- Congress 15, NCP 3 and Independent 1, with Speaker having power to vote only in case of a tie.

On the other hand, the GDA, which CM described as ''unholy alliance backed by land mafias'', had a strength of 20, with BJP-14, Save Goa Front (SGF) and MGP 2 each, UGDP 1 and Independent 1, apart from Ms Fernandes.

The GDA succeeded in showing their strength through a head count before President Pratibha Patil on the lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday and forcing Governor S C Jamir to direct the Chief Minister to face the trial of strength on the floor of the House tomorrow.

Cutting across their pre-poll inherent contradictions and animosities, the GDA partners forged the alliance to oust the Kamat government, which they described as ''incompetent, inefficient and maladministered even as the Chief Minister turned a puppet.'' The Congress, on the other hand, alleged that the land mafia which failed the controversial Regional Plan-2011 put through, was behind the GDA to reap rich harvest after coming back to power.

It was more of an economic crisis than political crisis, the Congress maintained saying further that the BJP was unable to digest the popularity of the Kamat government in a short time going closer to the 'aam aadmi' (common man).

While the pre-poll alliance partner NCP remained calm watching the developments, the Congress was making all its best to engineer a split in the GDA at any cost for its survival using all tricks, says the MGP.

''We do not budge despite threats, but continue to support the GDA. We had written to the governor and the speaker in this regard,'' MGP supremo Pandurang Raut said.

Mrs Fernandes, who was also present at Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the GDA members yesterday, continued to fret and fume against the Speaker and Chief Minister for the ill-treatment meted out to her all along, leave alone denying Cabinet berth to her despite being the lone woman member in the House.

UNI