Former Defence Minister and Goa chief minister-elect Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said he would comment on the Supreme Court order, after he is sworn in as chief minister.
“I will comment after the swearing-in,” he said in Panaji when asked to comment on the court's order to hold a floor test in the Legislative Assembly on March 16.
On the other hand, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh called the Supreme Court's order a “great victory for the Congress.”
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The Congress petitioned the court late on Monday, alleging that Governor Mridula Sinha had acted arbitrarily and invited the BJP to form a government in Goa despite the fact that the Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the election with 17 seats.
On Tuesday, the court did not stay the swearing-in ceremony, but directed that a floor test be held on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Congress said the Governor unilaterally invited the BJP to form the next government despite a letter written by the Congress to her seeking an invitation from her to form a government.
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“We wanted to stake claim since March 12. We had even given her a letter by the night of March 12. She still did not give us time, despite that she went against “established conventions” and invited the BJP to form a government,” Mr. Digvijaya Singh told presspersons at the Congress House.
After a meeting of its legislative party in Panaji on Tuesday morning, all the Congress MLAs, accompanied by Mr. Singh and AICC secretary Chella Kumar, left for the Raj Bhavan as the Governor had given them an appointment at 1.30 p.m.
“We asked the Governor for an appointment by 10.30 a.m., but we have been told by the Raj Bhavan that she will meet us at 1:30 p.m.,” Mr. Singh said.
The Congress, which emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats in the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly, and the BJP, which won 13 seats, are locked in a tussle over government formation.
The Governor on Sunday invited Mr. Parrikar to form a government, after the latter submitted letters of support from 21 MLAs, which includes three MLAs each from the Goa Forward Party and the Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party and two independent legislators. One more independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar from Sanguem submitted his letter of support to the BJP on Monday.