Thursday, May 26 2005 21:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Panaji: Coming down on the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government at the Centre, senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Sushma Swaraj today (May 26, 2005) said it had assured her party that the Goa Assembly would be dissolved within a few months of the imposition of the President's Rule and fresh elections would be held in the State.

"We were assured in private by both the Home Minister and the Prime Minister that the Assembly would be dissolved and fresh elections would be held. They asked us to co-operate in passing the President's Rule in the Parliament on that count. But they back-tracked later and went in for bypolls," Swaraj, who is in Panaji to campaign for the by-elections, told reporters.

"Pramod (Mahajan) went and met them personally and was told by the Home Minister that the Assembly was dismissed, but later on he back-tracked saying his partymen in Goa were not happy with general elections and therefore he would have to go in for bypolls to keep them happy," she said.

"This is a double treachery by the UPA Government. And for the party that swears by the renunciation of power by its president, I charge Congress with trying everything to grab power. The examples of Bihar, Jharkhand and Goa are good enough," she added.

Dismissing allegations that her party indulged in horse-trading in Bihar, Swaraj said, "After the Assembly was put in suspended animation, it was taken for granted that there would be some sort of realignments in the State. So how can you call an realignment as horse trading? Do they have any proof that money has changed hands?"

She also accused Congress of not allowing any other party to form a Government in any State.