Manohar Parrikar, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, told presspersons here Monday that three members of the Legislative Assembly from his party were offered bribes to defect by former ministers in the recently deposed Luizinho Faleiro government.

The BJP leader who paraded his MLAs before the press alleged that three of them -- Vinay Tendulkar, Vishwas Sattarkar and Dayanand Mandrekar -- were approached by aides of former tourism minister Churchill Alemao and another MLA. ``They were offered between Rs 25 and Rs 50 lakh to defect,'' Parrikar said. The three BJP legislators themselves narrated in detail how they were approached by middlemen on behalf of senior Congress leaders with offers to split the BJP. However, the saffron legislators insisted that they had turned down theoffers.

According to Parrikar, the BJP has decided to file police complaints against the persons who contacted its MLAs. ``We will also complain to the Income Tax Department and other agencies to enquire into the sources of the money,'' Parrikar said.

He added that the party's cadres have been activated to physically assault persons attempting to bribe the MLAs, but said the BJP MLAs had not been kept under guard.

However, former Tourism minister Churchill Alemao denied that attempts were made to induce the BJP MLAs to split the party. ``Parrikar had done that to our MLA, that's why he is afraid,'' Alemao said. He further alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh cadres in the state were intimidating Congressmen as the BJP is part of the Fransisco Sardinha government.

Sardinha, a rebel Congressman, broke away from the parent party earlier this month along with eleven of his colleagues to form the government with support from the BJP and other splinter groups in the 40-member Assembly. For the firsttime, the BJP had to take its ten MLAs to a hill station in neighbouring Maharashtra to prevent them from being wooed by the Congress.

Faleiro removed as CLP leader
Days after his government was ousted, Luizinho Faleiro stepped down as leader of the Congress Legislature Party. He has been replaced by former chief minister Ravi Naik.

In true Congress tradition, Faleiro proposed Naik's name for the post. Naik's election was overseen by party observers former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Pondicherry Motilal Vora and M Farooq. Faleiro told reporters he had voluntarily offered to step down from the post following his government's ouster. Naik will now be the leader of the opposition in the Goa House.

However Congress sources say the party MLAs clearly indicated their unhappiness with the leadership of Faleiro to All India Congress Committee general secretary Mabel Rebello who was in Goa during the weekend. Faleiro was replaced to prevent further eroding of the party's strength in theHouse, sources said.