PANJIM: The opposition Congress party on Wednesday said that they will question the legality of the defection and alleged merger of eight MLAs in the court of law, after looking at the papers submitted by them.
With Congress having filed disqualification petitions against two of its members – Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat – in July this year, the party leaders were puzzled as to how the duo could be part of the eight MLAs, constituting two-thirds of the legislative party, required for the merger. This will also be questioned, the party said.
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Goa Pradesh Congress (GPCC) President Amit Patkar said, “The BJP is rattled by Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra”. CM Pramod Sawant recently claimed they have the numbers and a comfortable majority, then why did he have to take more MLAs?” he questioned.
Patkar claimed that the three MLAs stood by their values and principles, unlike eight others, who betrayed the trust of the people. He said that those three MLAs will remain strong with Congress.
Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira said, “We are shocked by the decision of eight MLAs because we were together, and had taken the pledge.
A disqualification plea filed by then-party president Girish Chodankar against the 10 rebel MLAs who defected from Congress and joined BJP in July 2019 is pending before the Supreme Court. The matter will come up for hearing before the Court in November. The court ruling will have national ramifications,” he said, demanding to know how they contested the Congress symbol if the Congress had merged with BJP then.
Ferreira said that the further course of action will be decided after studying the documents submitted by the eight MLAs to the Speaker. “We are waiting to study the documents and to see what claim they have made and whether it fits in the Tenth Schedule,” he said, adding that the Congress party will be revived in the State.
Referring to the Congress party obtaining affidavits from all its candidates before the Assembly election that they will not defect, Ferreira said that these affidavits had no legal standing and were taken only as assurance from the contesting candidates.
Cuncolim MLA Yuri Alemao said that the defecting of eight party MLAs was unfortunate because they were elected on Congress symbol for five years. “I fail to understand how they can defy their Gods. BJP are masters in defections. Congress party is not dependent on MLAs and the party values remain intact,” he said. Yuri said that he is not a commodity to be purchased and that he is loyal to the party. “These are normal ethics taught to me by my parents,” he added.
