The political scene in Goa is hotting up as the various political parties and social activists in the state are demanding the removal of the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for alleged ‘non-performance’ of the State Government. Parrikar is reported to be suffering from pancreatic cancer and is being given medical treatment in India and the US.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people along with Goa Congress MLAs and prominent social activist and advocate Aires Rodrigues, led an all-party/NGOs march towards the Chief Minister’s residence to demand his resignation. After the morcha was stopped by police near the residence, Advocate Aires Rodrigues gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the Chief Minister to resign or face a state-wide agitation, stating “The non-functioning of the Chief Minister, who holds the finance portfolio, has almost stopped sanctioning of all major works in the state, which carries a debt of Rs 15,658 crores that the government ideally has to bring down.”
The morcha included Congress Opposition leader Chandrakant Kavlekar, party president Girish Chodankar, MLAs Digamber Kamat, Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco, Jennifer Monserrate, Tony Fernandes, Shiv Sena’s Jitesh Kamat, NCP’s Avinash Bhosale, and social activist Dr Francis Colaco.
The ‘Concerned Citizens for Good Governance’ group led by its convenor Ms Judith Almeida submitted a memorandum containing 160 signatures to the Goa Governor Mridula Sinha demanding dismissal of the State Government and dissolution of the Goa Legislative Assembly – if a fulltime CM is not appointed within a reasonable time — in the wake of  total collapse of administration and coalition partners playing games to grab the CM’s chair, even as the poor continued to suffer most.
Later, leading the group in support of RTI activist Rajan Ghate – who is on a hunger strike at the Azad Maidan demanding that the present Goa coalition government be dismissed — Ms Almeida said the group would write to the Prime Minister as the Governor had merely forwarded the memorandum to the Goa Chief Secretary about administrative matters but without any solutions for having a functioning Government.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party has moved the High Court to prevent Sopte and Shirodkar– two Congress MLAs who joined the BJP in Goa – from contesting the bypolls. The MGP would rethink on contesting the bypolls if and only if Sudin Dhavlikar was given charge as Chief Minister of Goa in place of the ailing present CM Manohar Parrikar, party sources said.
The MGP – in a writ petition – questioned about the elected political party representative s changing parties, and also informed the Court that The Chief Minister and BJP MLAs Francisco D’souza and Pandurang Madkaikar are terminally ill. “With the sickness of these representatives, the political situation in Goa continues to be fluid,” the petition stated.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party has moved the High Court to prevent Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar– two Congress MLAs who joined the BJP in Goa – from contesting the bypolls. The MGP would rethink on contesting the bypolls only if Sudin Dhavlikar was given charge as Chief Minister of Goa in place of the ailing present CM Manohar Parrikar, party sources said.
The MGP – in a writ petition – questioned about the elected political party representative s changing parties, and also informed the Court that The Chief Minister and BJP MLAs Francisco D’souza and Pandurang Madkaikar are terminally ill. “With the sickness of these representatives, the political situation in Goa continues to be fluid,” the petition stated.