SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The fate of 12 MLAs – including a Deputy Speaker, two Deputy Chief Ministers and two Ministers – who switched to the BJP in 2019 hangs in balance as Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar on Friday reserved orders on the disqualification petitions filed against the defecators. The Speaker is expected to deliver the verdict before March 8, the tentative date for the hearing on a related matter scheduled before the Supreme Court.
The disqualification petitions were filed by Congress President Girish Chodankar against ten the Congress MLAs, and MGP leader Ramakrishna Dhavalikar against two then party legislators. While MGP MLAs switched sides to BJP in March 2019, the Congress legislators joined the ruling party in July, 2019.
When the matter came up for final hearing before the Speaker, the petitioners contended that the MLAs have incurred disqualification in terms of para 2 of the Tenth Schedule to Constitution of India. They maintained that the MLAs ceased to be members of the State Legislative Assembly.
On the other hand, the ten Congress MLAs contended that the Indian National Congress does not exist in Goa. The MLAs said that the five Congress legislators are part of the opposition bench in the House and are not Congress Legislative members.
Speaking to media persons post the hearing, Adv Abhijit Gosawi, representing petitioner Girish Chodankar, urged the Speaker to disqualify all the ten as Members of the State Legislative Assembly.
During the hearing, the petitioner argued that the MLAs have incurred disqualification in terms of para 2 of the Tenth Schedule to Constitution of India as they have voluntarily given up membership of their original political party (Congress) on whose behalf they had contested and stood elected to the Goa State Legislative Assembly from their respective constituencies.
The petitioner claimed that there is no valid merger in terms of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which is the only exception/defense to the disqualification.
Gosawi said he also argued on the fact that the action of respondents, does not amount to a valid merger of a political party on account of the fact that a merger could only be of a political party with any other political party.
He said that the petitioners stated that even if two-third legislators of legislative party had agreed to merge, in law there cannot be any merger without merger of the original political party.
Adv Nikhil Vaze, representing the respondents, said that the Speaker, for now, disallowed their application to cross examine the petitioner and bring on record witnesses to the merger. “However, we have brought all the documentary evidences on the record,” he said.
Vaze said that the matter was argued clearly on basis of the merit of the petition. “Apart from reserving the order in the disqualification matter, the Speaker has agreed to pass order on their points of cross examination,” he said.
He also said that as submitted before the Supreme Court, Indian National Congress does not exist in Goa and that the five Congress legislators are part of the opposition bench in the House and not Congress Legislative members. “We have also argued how under the Tenth Schedule, the merger is valid,” he said adding ‘as there was a resolution passed by the party’.
Earlier, Adv Dhaval Zaveri, representing Dhavalikar, said that the matter was heard on the merits and that they will wait for the outcome of the order to decide future action.
