Panaji:
Opposition Congress on Friday urged Goa Governor Mridula Sinha to either convene the Assembly session by February 26 or dissolve the Legislative Assembly to bring the state under Governor’s rule.
Goa went to polls on February 4, the counting for which will be held on March 11.
“Goa is about to face constitutional crisis. The governor should either convene the House by February 26 or dissolve the Assembly and notify Governor’s rule,” state unit Congress president Luizinho Faleiro told reporters here in presence of the Leader of Opposition Pratapsinh Rane.
He cited a constitutional provision mandating holding of Assembly once in six months.
As the previous session of the House was held on August 26, the next session is due on February 26.
“Governor who is the custodian of constitution should uphold its mandate and not act like a mere rubber stamp by failing in her duty. The constitutional mandate cannot be re-written by state legislators,” the Congress leader said, adding article 174 mandates a governor to summon the House within six months of its last sitting.
Faleiro said, “The Assembly should have stood dissolved automatically after the model code of conduct was announced and polling was held subsequently”.
He said current government cannot continue to be in office without holding Assembly for six months. “If that happens then it would be highly unconstitutional,” Faleiro added.
Rane said he would consult the Congress legislators to decide whether to meet the Governor and request her to dissolve the House.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar in an interview to PTI on Thursday ruled out the possibility of dissolving the Assembly and said the present government would continue to function ahead of the counting.
“After the elections, now we are waiting for the counting. The question of dissolution doesn’t arise. The government continues to function...the cabinet also continues to exist but we are not holding any meetings as we can’t take policy decisions,” he had said.
