Crisis looms for Goa Cong again

The Congress-led coalition in Goa is again struggling to save its government. This time the trouble has cropped up within the Congress itself.

According to the last month's arrangements with the allies, which saved Chief Minister Digamabar Kamat's seat, one member of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) had to be included in the ministry at the cost of a Congress minister.

According to Congress sources, no one in the Congress is ready to sacrifice his chair to save the government.

The Congress is too afraid to apply pressure beyond a point because it might again lead to a life-threat for its government. The Congress has a wafer-thin majority in the state with only 22 legislators in the treasury bench in an assembly of forty seats.

At this point, Sonia Gandhi's party, which already had a tumultuous stint in Goa, cannot afford another uncertainty on the survival of its government.

The party is taking a cautious approach. BK Hariprasad, the Congress general secretary in charge of Goa, had a series of meetings with party members in the last few weeks.

However, even his last one "" which ended on Monday "" could not solve the problem. After landing from Goa on Tuesday morning Hariprasad admitted, "making space for MGP is the biggest problem. We are still trying to find out who can be dropped among the Congress ministers."

The Congress, however, has managed to shift the finance portfolio from Dayanand Narvekar to the chief minister. During the last crisis, the dissidents expressed their reservations against Narvekar's functioning.

The Congress, which could not take the risk of shunting him, somehow managed to take away the portfolio. He is now left with information technology, legislative affairs and technical education.

The third demand has also been resolved. An MGP leader will be made a chairman of a government-funded body. This practise is now seen as a usual compensation for parties after the number of ministers in states and centres have been restricted by law.

A crisis emerged last month when three NCP and an independent MLA withdrew support from the Kamat government reducing the coalition to a minority.

The Congress claimed the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) lobby was trying to destabilise the government as Kamat had sought the scrapping of 15 SEZs.

After hectic parleys and bargains between the allies, it was resolved Kamat will continue as chief minister but an MGP leader will be made a minister. The Congress is ruling Goa with the help of NCP, MGP, independent MLA and the Save Goa Front.