Manohar Parrikar government won the floor test in Goa Assembly by 22-16.
'This is victory for us,' said senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh after the bench headed by CJI Khehar ordered floor test in Goa assembly on Tuesday, even though it refused to stay Manohar Parrikar's swearing-in as the state chief Minister.
Today, in a major setback for the Congress, the party lost the trust vote, paving way for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to take control of the state.
The newly formed government has won the floor test by 22-16 votes in the 40-member House.
This has come as a major victory for the BJP as they managed to pocket fourth state after winning people's mandate in the recently-concluded Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand assembly elections and establishing majority in Manipur.
However, amidst all the drama that had been unfolding in the state ever since the results were declared, Congress was making several claims and allegations. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of using 'money-power', while other Digvijaya Singh accused Parrikar of 'bringing down the morality of politics'. He also accused Governor Mridula Sinha of not following the 'constitutional norms'. But are the allegations made by Congress against BJP justified? Take a look
Congress got the highest number of seats, but BJP 'stole the mandate'
Going by the books, Congress' stand makes absolute sense. However, going by the history of such instances in the country, the argument put forth by finance minister Arun Jaitley would be more relevant.
More recently in 2013, when BJP had managed to get 31 seats in Delhi, it was Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 28 MLAs and support of Congress which formed the government because BJP failed to get majority. Similarly, in 2002, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in coalition formed government in Jharkhand in 2005.
Governor not following the constitutional norms
Governor of state, just like President, is the titular head of the state, whereas the major decisions are taken by the real head of the country or the state i.e. Prime Minister and Chief Ministers respectively.
Often there has been a question raised about Governors acting as “mere puppets” on the instructions of the Central government. However, for the first time in 1959, aGovernor had acted against the spirit of authority vested to him under Article 356 of Indian Constitution. Governor Burgula Ramakrishna Rao had dismissed the democratically elected Left government of EMS Namboodiripad in Kerala on the instructions of Prime Minister Jawaharalal Nehru.
Last year, in Arunachal Pradesh, Governor JP Rajkhowa had asked for President's rule to be imposed in Arunachal Pradesh by stating cases of cow slaughter, threats and an episode with CM Nabam Tuki's council of ministers that almost resulted in physical assault.
Also, it's a known fact that the highest number of President's rule were imposed during emergency. Between 1970 and 1974, Indira Gandhi had imposed President's rule 19 times.
Parrikar bringing down the morality of politics
It is said that all is fair in Love, War and Politics. Even before the results were announced, there was a clear indication that Manohar Parrikar would come back to his home state in case of a fractured verdict to strengthen the saffron party's base. And exactly that's what happened. Since Parrikar is highly respected, loved and considered as one of the most prominent figures in Goan politics, it was easy for BJP to gain support of other parties.
However, he wasn't the first minister to be sent back to home state. Earlier, Sharad Pawar too was asked to return to Maharashtra to head the state.
Going further in the past, Bhajan Lal, an infamous Haryana leader, better known for his ability to gain support was rewarded with the Chief Ministerial berth by Indira Gandhi in 1980 for shepherding 40 Janata MLAs to Congress (I) camp.
In 2006, Madhu Koda was made the first independent CM of Jharkhand in order to ensure that BJP government cannot come to power in the state.
Thus, what happened in Manipur and Goa can be seen as a precedent in politics, and not a one-off incident.
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 "Manohar Parrikar Amit Shah Nitin Gadkar AFP")
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