Murmurs of discontent have surfaced among Congress members of the Legislative Assembly who are upset over Faleiro allocating plum portfolios to defectors propping up the week-old government.

Last week, the CM allotted the prized Finance, Industry, Tourism and Town and Country Planning portfolios to legislators adept at crossing the floor.

Faleiro also persuaded Congress president Sonia Gandhi to change her mind regarding the allocation of the Finance portfolio to Dayanand Narvekar, who was instrumental in toppling the Pratap Rane and Wilfred D'Souza governments.

Following these developments, ``loyalist'' Congress legislators met over the weekend and decided on a list of complaints which were then forwarded to the Chief Minister, according to reports in thelocal press.

Reacting swiftly to stamp out dissension, the CM told a press conference on Sunday that he had set a probation period of three months for his ministers. If their performance did not measure up to expectations, he would recommend dissolution of the Assembly. With the support of just 21 MLAs in a House of 40, the Faliero Government enjoys a precarious majority.

Meanwhile, the 19-member coalition opposed to the Faleiro Government is divided over choosing the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. While the Goa Rajiv Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have decided on former chief minister Wilfred D'Souza, Speaker Tomazinho Cardozo decided on MGP leader Kashinath Jhalmi for the post. However, in a joint statement, Jhalmi and D'Souza said that the 19-member Opposition had agreed on the former chief minister.