Thursday, February 3 2005 14:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Describing the dismissal of Manohar Parrikar Government at Goa as a "midnight murder of democracy", former BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) president M Venkaiah Naidu today (Feb 03, 2005) said that the Governor S C Jamir "deserves to be sacked".

The BJP would fight it out both legally and politically, he told reporters in Chennai.

"The entire thing has been done in a pre-planned conspiracy and the Congress party is back again at its dirty and habitual game of destabilising duly elected Governments," he said.

He feared that the next target could be the Mulayam Singh led Government at Uttar Pradesh.

Tracing the events that led to the dismissal of Parrikar Government, Venkaiah said that if the Governor had any doubts about the results of trial of strength in the Assembly, he could very well have directed the Speaker to convene another trial of strength today.

Instead, within minutes of Parrikar proving his majority, he was dismissed and the Governor even administered the oath of office to the Congress leader. "What is the urgency? I don't think anywhere in the world Chief Minister would have been sworn in at midnight."

"It shows their (Congress) mindset. The script was written in Delhi and executed by the Governor under the directives of Congress high command," he alleged.

"These steps will boomerang on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Congress party," he said.

Venkaiah said that the dismissal was "an assault on the federal system and speaks of intolerance towards non-Congress Governments in the country." Calling upon all "democratic forces to condemn this murder of democracy", he said for a short time gain the constitution should not be devalued. He said that the episode would only further increase the tension between the opposition and the ruling parties nationally. "The ruling party wants to finish off all the opposition," he said.