Anyone expecting some political upheaval following the Speaker’s order on the disqualification petitions, would have retired to bed disappointed at the end of the day. After the long months of a legal battle in the Supreme Court over the delay in delivering an order on the disqualifications petitions, and the Court even directing the Speaker to speed up the process, the ending to the matter was rather tame, perhaps even expected. Nothing changes in political circles, other than perhaps empowering the government in the State even more. The government’s stability, that was never in doubt, has been further ensured as the sword of defections that had hung over the MLAs who had defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party has been now withdrawn.
For the dozen MLAs, whose ambitions exceeded what they were voted for and so changed sides midway through the Assembly’s term, the order of the Speaker on the petitions seeking their disqualification for defecting from their party could not have come as a surprise. It was to be anticipated. So when the Speaker dismissed the petitions, even the petitioners did not show any astonishment. On the other hand, the State Congress president Girish Chodankar, a petitioner in the case said that the order was on expected lines and that they would be now moving the courts, perhaps even mentioning this in the Supreme Court when the case for the delay in hearing the petition comes up. When he does go to court, the sword will swing over the MLAs heads again. But until then, there is nothing for them to worry about.
The law is always a matter of interpretation. The order on the petitions, therefore, would depend on how the Speaker interpreted the law on defections in these particular cases of the Congress and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLAs switching sides to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Without a copy of the order, one can’t comment on that yet. The decision on whether the interpretation of the Speaker was right or wrong will be delivered by the courts, if and when Chodankar, who has vowed to move the justice system, takes the cases further. Until then, the MLAs who changed sides will claim that their action has the backing of the law, while those who feel aggrieved by the defections will sense a denial of justice.
Again expectedly, the order of the Speaker was hailed and panned depending on which side of the political fence one was seated in. The Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed it, the Congress and the other opposition parties slammed it, bestowing a very political colour to the entire issue. It is clear that the order is not being accepted across the political spectrum, and only a court verdict may put it to rest. It has already been a long wait for this order and any court matter will take its time. There is no provision in the law that mandates that the Speaker deliver the order within a specified time frame. This has made it possible to keep disqualification cases pending. In the current case, the petitioners sought directions from the Supreme Court to the Speaker to expedite an order.
For the current, the strength of the House remains unchanged. The 12 MLAs, who two years ago crossed the floor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, are safe from being disqualified. The current Assembly has less than a year to go, so any court verdict that comes in the months ahead may have little bearing on the Assembly. But, MLAs and aspiring MLAs have been given another instance to count on should they seek to change colours during their term of office. Goa, therefore, has not seen the last of defections by its MLAs. Perhaps, they may even be emboldened further in the future.
