Goa Election 2017: Congress challenges Guv Mridula Sinha's decision to appoint Manohar Parrikar as CM, moves SC

New Delhi: The Congress moved the Supreme Court on Monday challenging Goa governor Mridula Sinha’s decision to appoint BJP leader Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister of the state. The hurriedly filed petition late in the evening was mentioned at the residence of Chief Justice JS Kehar, who agreed to give an urgent hearing on Tuesday. A special bench would be constituted as the apex court is on break for a week. The petition filed by Goa Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Chandrakant Kavlekar has sought a stay on the swearing-in of Parrikar as the chief minister. The petition has also sought quashing of the decision of the governor to appoint Parrikar as the chief minister. [caption id=“attachment_3126150” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of former defence minister Manohar Parrikar. PTI[/caption] The petition, filed by advocate Devdutt Kamath, is likely to be argued by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and has made the Centre and Goa as the parties in the case. The Goa CLP leader has argued that Congress emerged as the single largest party in the polls and under the constitutional convention, the governor is bound to invite the single largest party to form the government and give it the opportunity to prove majority in a floor test. The petition said that the governor’s decision was blatantly unconstitutional and illegal, and that it violates the basic features of the Constitution. Further, the advocate said that it was wrong on part of the governor to invite the BJP-led alliance for government formation as there was no pre-poll alliance. In the 40-member House, the Congress has 17 MLAs, followed by the BJP with 13, the MGP (3), the GFP (3), the NCP (1) and Independents (3). Parrikar had submitted evidence of BJP’s majority before the governor on Monday, stating the support of 13 MLAs of the BJP, three MLAs of the MGP, three of the Goa Forward Party and two Independent MLAs, thus having a total strength of 21 MLAs.