Asks Reginaldo to apologize for statements made against him
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: After being accused of match-fixing with the government over curtailment in submission of LAQs for Question Hour during the ongoing session of the Goa Assembly, Opposition leader Pratapsing Rane Wednesday sought a clarification from the Goa Speaker Rajendra Arlekar on the issue.
Rane was on his feet as Question Hour was about to begin and sought a clarification from the Speaker on the issue of curtailed LAQs to which Arlekar told the Opposition leader and legislators in the Opposition benches that the matter was placed before the Business Advisory committee and a report to this effect had also been approved.
“The limit is on submitting unstarred questions,” he said, adding that in most cases unstarred questions are not raised in the House.
He defended this saying that even former Speaker of the Goa Assembly Tomazinho Cardozo had invoked such a limitation during his term as speaker.
Arlekar said that legislative assemblies in other States in the country also imposed such limits, which prevents wastage of time and paper.
Arlekar Wednesday also took strong objections to statements made by Opposition legislators to the media and has moved one such case to the Privilege Committee of the House with regards to statements made by Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco.
According to the Speaker, the Opposition Congress MLA had insulted the Speaker by calling him biased. Arlekar quizzed Reginaldo for his statements and also insisted that he apologize to the House.
When Reginaldo insisted on giving a detailed reply pointing out that he may have made a statement while replying to the press, the Speaker said that he would refer the matter to the Privilege committee to decide on the same.
