Tuesday, March 1 2005 15:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Political developments in Goa today (Mar 1, 2005) rocked both Houses of Parliament with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) terming dismissal of the Parrikar Government as, "a murder of democracy", forcing their adjournment for the day.

In Lok Sabha, slogan-shouting BJP members insisted on admission of an adjournment motion moved by Leader of the Opposition L K Advani on the issue but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee disallowed it, observing, "I withhold my consent" on it.

After the first 15-minute adjournment, Chatterjee held a meeting with leaders of political parties and later announced when the House reassembled that following a "request from all sides", he was adjourning the House for the day.

Both Houses plunged into turmoil as soon as they assembled this morning with Opposition members charging Governor S C Jamir with "murdering" democracy in Goa by dismissing a democratically elected Government.

In a bid to drive home the point on the admissibility of the motion, Advani said that such an action was never resorted to during the NDA rule at the Centre. "A democratically-elected Government in Goa was dismissed a month ago in an arbitrary manner," he said.

Dissatisfied with the explanation given by Advani for admission of the motion, Chatterjee ruled that he was not admitting it and the matter could be discussed in some other form.

The Rajya Sabha too was in turmoil with Opposition members storming the well leading to a two-hour adjournment and later for the day without transaction of any business except tabling of listed papers.

Amidst slogan shouting, the papers were tabled by Ministers, before Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan adjourned the House.

Quoting rules and procedures, the Speaker observed that since the matter was pending in the Supreme Court, he could not allow a discussion on it. The conduct of a Governor also could not be debated by the House by way of an adjournment motion, he said.

Recalling that on November 27, 1996, then Leader of the Opposition Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given a notice for an adjournment motion on the alleged "unconstitutional" action of the Uttar Pradesh Governor and continuation of President's rule in the State, Chatterjee said that, since the matter was sub judice, the notice was disallowed.

"In view of these facts, I withhold my consent to the notice of adjournment motion" on the Goa issue, Chatterjee said, before adjourning the House.

Advani said that the office of Governor had been abused and a democratically elected Government had been dismissed even after it had proved its majority.

"In such a situation, the best course is to go to people," the BJP leader said.