Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar on Friday criticised Speaker Rajesh Patnekar for allegedly deliberately employing delaying tactics in the disqualification petition against 10 MLAs.
Chodankar had been summoned by the Speaker on Friday and his application seeking to submit additional documents in the disqualification matter was dismissed by the Speaker.
Reacting to this Chodankar said, “The Speaker is doing a futile exercise by calling us for a hearing to show the Supreme Court (SC) that he is conducting hearings. Actually he is protecting the defectors. We have no issues even if the Speaker gives an order in favour of his party (BJP), but the order should have been given immediately. He has to dispose it. He can’t keep it pending.”
He further stated that the Speaker can decide on whether a merger claimed by ten defectors is valid or invalid. “Let him give any order, we can then go ahead with other legal options,” Chodankar, who was present with his legal team at the Assembly, said.
The GPCC chief alleged that the Speaker doesn’t care about the SC and is also not fulfilling his constitutional mandate and hence he is ruling against it.
He reiterated that the defectors are enjoying powers as the Speaker is delaying the case. “There is a SC ruling that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly should decide on a petition seeking disqualification of a member under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution within a period of three months, now it is more than 20 months. But this Speaker is doing time pass by delaying the whole process, he is making mockery of even the SC,” Chodankar added.
