Cong govt in Goa in trouble as NCP threatnes to pull the rug Panaji/Surat, June 9, 2005 http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1394151,000900040002.htm
The Congress-led government on Thursday night appeared headed towards trouble as key coalition partner NCP threatened to withdraw support protesting non-inclusion of one of its MLAs in the ministry which is set to be expanded on Friday with the induction of seven new faces. The NCP Goa chief Wilfred D'souza told reporters in Surat tonight "we have threatened to withdraw the support if the commitment of including our representative (Mikky Pacheco) is not honoured". The Congress and its allies like NCP have 21 while main opposition BJP and allies have 17 in the 40-member state assembly with an effective strength of 39. One MLA Philippe Neri Rodriquez has been qualified. D'souza charged that Congress was being "very very communal" and Congress "is turning out to be more communal than BJP." He said Pacheco was one of the five MLAs who had resigned from the state assembly when BJP was in power reducing the saffron party-led government to minority in March this year. Out of the five MLAs, four returned triumphant in recent by-polls and if three of them could be given ministerial berths why not Pacheco, he asked. "And why not one? Because he is Mikky Pacheco?" said D'souza alleging, "This is communal, very very communal. Congress is turning out to be more communal than BJP." The threat by NCP came just a couple of days after a coalition government headed by veteran Congressman Pratapsinh Rane was sworn in ending three months of President's Rule in the state and came a day ahead of expansion of the ministry by the Chief Minister.
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