NEW ARMY CHIEF: Outgoing Chief of the Indian Army Gen. Nirmal Chander Vij, center, offers his chair to his successor, Gen. Johinder Jaswant Singh during a handover ceremony at army headquarters in New Delhi, on Jan. 31. Gen. Singh, who played a key role in framing the army’s new war fighting doctrine, is the first Sikh chief of the force. (Photo: AFP)

Panaji : Pratapsing Rane of the Congress Party assumed charge as the new chief minister of Goa late night on Feb. 2 after dramatic developments in the state Assembly that ended in Governor S.C. Jamir dismissing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Manohar Parrikar.

The Parrikar government was sacked shortly after Speaker Vishwas Satarkar announced its victory in a confidence vote. The speaker threw out independent legislator Nery Rodrigues for “indisciplined behavior in the house.”

Governor Jamir sacked the government, saying the speaker’s decision to disqualify Rodrigues, who had withdrawn support to the BJP government, was “unconstitutional.”

Even as the BJP sought President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s intervention for reinstating Parikkar, the Congress decided to stake claim for power.

Terming the governor’s decision “undemocratic and unconstitutional,” BJP president L.K. Advani said in New Delhi that party leaders would go to Kalam to seek his intervention. The confidence vote followed the resignation of four BJP legislators, effectively reducing the strength of the 40-member assembly to 36.