Team Herald
PANJIM: State Legislative Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar on Tuesday held the first hearing in the disqualification petition filed by the Congress against its 10 former MLAs, who quit the party and merged its legislative wing with the ruling BJP.
Disqualification petition has been filed against Deputy Speaker and Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes, Deputy Chief Minister and Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar, WRD Minister and Velim MLA Felipe Neri Rodrigues, Revenue Minister and Taleigao MLA Jennifer Monserrate, Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserrate, Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias, Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa and Thivim MLA Nilkant Halarnkar.
All the ten MLAs had merged Congress legislative wing with BJP, in July.
The petitioner – Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar, who was represented by his lawyer Abhijit Gosawi has urged Speaker to disqualify all the ten MLAs as Members of State Legislative Assembly.
During the hearing, the petitioner argued that the respondents 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 (i.e Indian National Congress Party) on whose behalf they had contested and stood elected to the Goa State Legislative Assembly from their respective constituencies,” the petitioner said.
The petitioner claimed that there is no valid merger in terms of Tenth Schedule to Constitution of India, which is presently the only exception/defence to the disqualification.
Gosawi informed media post hearing that he also argued on the fact that the action of respondents, does not amount to a valid merger of 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 petitioner states 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.
When contacted, the Speaker’s office said that he will be going through the detail petition post which second hearing will be called. Decision on whether notice will be issued to respondents will be taken during the next hearing.
