Date:02/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/03/02/stories/2005030205431100.htm

National

Dissolve Goa Assembly, says Vajpayee

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 1. The former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said today that the Goa Assembly should be dissolved and new elections ordered to end the political stalemate there. He criticised the Governor, S.C. Jamir, for "dismissing an elected BJP Government" and "crossing the limits of his powers."

He was addressing a meeting of the BJP parliamentary party here.

The Goa issue was raised by the BJP through an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha this morning, but was disallowed by the Speaker on the ground that the matter was in court and that it concerned a Governor.

The BJP decided at the parliamentary party meeting that it would press for the adjournment motion. Later, there were uproarious scenes in the House when the issue was not taken up, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day.

Mr. Vajpayee told reporters that "democracy has been murdered in Goa ... this is not a good precedent ... the Governor crossed the limits of his powers." At the start of the Goa crisis, the BJP had demanded that the Governor be recalled and the Parrikar Government be reinstated. But today Mr. Vajpayee demanded the dissolution of the Assembly.

The change in stand is apparently due to the changed circumstances — one more BJP MLA has resigned (the resignation by four MLAs earlier had triggered the Goa crisis) and party strategists had asked the Speaker, Vishwas Satarkar, to resign yesterday when the Rane Government was to move a motion of confidence. Since the Speaker does not vote, his resignation helped the BJP add one more to its falling strength. At present, the BJP and its supporters do not seem to have the numbers with them, hence a change of stand.