PANJIM: In what could brew trouble for Health Minister Vishwajit Rane ahead of the Valpoi by-elections, the Congress on Friday moved the High Court with a disqualification petition, seeking to restrain their former MLA from contesting the by-polls. The party prayed that the Minister be disqualified from being chosen as MLA for the next five years (2022) or till the House is dissolved.
The petition filed by the Indian National Congress along with co-petitioners Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, Congress Legislative Party and 15 MLAs (excluding Pratapsingh Rane, father of Vishwajit), will be heard on May 16.
Addressing media persons, Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavalekar said the party has moved the High Court of Bombay at Goa seeking Rane’s disqualification as member of the House from March 16, 2017 to March 15, 2022. “We expect the Court to issue us interim relief by restraining Rane from contesting by-election before the upcoming polls,” he said.
“By abstaining from voting in the Goa Legislative Assembly on 16.03.2017, and by voluntarily giving up his membership of
Indian National Congress Party, Rane had automatically incurred disqualification for being a member of the House from 16.03.2017 to 15.03.2022,” the petition, which was partially heard Friday evening states. The petitioners said the party had issued a whip to all its members and this was signed by Rane.
“Therefore, in terms of Article 191 of the Constitution of India, he stood disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly between this period of five years as a mandate of Article 191 of the Constitution of India,” the Congress party stated.
“Despite this constitutional mandate, Rane has not only joined a different political party on 06.04.2017 after voluntarily resigning from Indian National Congress on 16.03.2017 but also has been conferred a Ministerial office by the present BJP government in Goa for being dishonest to Indian National Congress,” it stated.
The petitioners claimed that Rane’s act of joining BJP a month after resigning from the Congress, is against the very foundations of Indian democracy and cannot be countenanced in terms of law or under Article 191 of the Constitution.
“Rane therefore, who holds a public office and is a public servant has to be restrained from being chosen as an MLA for the next five years. And for being a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly for the said equal period if he cannot be an MLA, he also cannot be a minister of a government in the State for the period of next five years,” the petition states.
The petitioners have made then Pro-tem Speaker Sidharth Kuncolienkar a respondent in the matter, along with Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Goa Government, Chief Electoral Office and the Election Commission of India.
Congress informed the Court that Rane is set to re-contest from the Valpoi constituency on a BJP ticket. “If he is allowed to contest or if he is allowed to function as a Minister which he is presently doing, it will amount to protecting a law breaker or a breaker of the fabric of Indian democracy or its foundation which cannot be permitted in terms of law and if permitted will amount to failure or miscarriage of justice,” the petition stated.
The party has accused its rebel leader of cheating the people who got him elected for greed and personal advancement and to the detriment of public good and democracy in India.
The petitioners have further accused the Pro-tem Speaker of being in collusion with Rane in accepting his resignation and thereafter the latter joining BJP, of which the Pro-tem speaker is the member.
“There is fraud played by Kuncolienkar on the Constitution of India being in collusion with each other or other BJP MLAs. Kuncolienkar could not have accepted the resignation of Rane because he had already incurred disqualification by abstaining from voting in terms of the whip,” the petitioner said.
The party said that Kuncolienkar had no power or authority or jurisdiction to accept the resignation because he was appointed by the Goa Governor for the specific purpose of constituting Goa Legislative Assembly by considering the motion of confidence in terms of the order issued by the Supreme Court.
