PORVORIM: Within few hours of the initial ruling, Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Monday reduced the two-day suspension of all seven opposition members including the Leader of Opposition from the Goa Legislative Assembly to 24 hours for their unruly behaviour and for causing ruckus on the Floor of the House over Manipur violence.
Condemning the behaviour of the Opposition post Question Hour session on Monday, Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar suspended the members under Rule 289 of the Business of the House for two days. However, he passed a fresh ruling later in the evening, ordering the suspended MLAs to join session post Question Hour on Tuesday, August 1.
The suspended members are Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, Congress MLAs Altone D’Costa and Carlos Ferreira, AAP’s Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, Goa Forward Party’s Vijai Sardesai, and Viresh Borkar of Revolutionary Goans Party.
Earlier in the day, Alemao demanded a discussion on the violence in Manipur after the Question Hour. He claimed that the private members’ resolution moved last Friday, July 28 by Cruz Silva on the issue was disallowed by the Speaker, while allowing BJP MLAs’ resolution on banning BBC documentary on Gujarat violence.
“Manipur is burning and in the first week of the Assembly, we had asked for a discussion. Even a resolution was disallowed. The government is not serious at all. Why should we not discuss Manipur,” Alemao asked.
All of the Opposition, clad in black shirts and trousers, began to demonstrate on the legislative floor with the placards. In response to the request, the Speaker stated that the issue is important to the entire nation.
“The Union Home Ministry is handling the situation. The issue is debated in the Parliament. You can raise this issue during the next Private Members day on Friday and I will decide whether to allow it or not. The issue cannot be discussed on the floor of the House now,” the Speaker ruled.
Unhappy with the stand of the Speaker, the Opposition rushed to the well of the House shouting “Manipur Manipur” slogans and stating, “We want justice. Manipur wants justice”.
As the Speaker continued with the session amidst the noisy scene, the Opposition tried to disrupt the MLAs who were speaking during the Zero Hour.
Jit Arolkar, an MGP MLA, when stood to table his Zero Hour mention, Opposition members raced to his bench and obstructed him with posters. The Opposition persisted in preventing Arolkar from speaking on the House floor. They even tried to pull him.
The Opposition members were pushed out of the House by marshals on the directions for the Speaker.
Aggrieved with the incident, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Legislative Affairs Minister Nilesh Cabral demanded action against the Opposition members and said that such behaviour cannot be tolerated. They demanded failure to take action against such behaviour will set wrong precedent in future.
The ruling benches said that such a situation never took place in the history of Goa Legislative Assembly wherein those opposing braced to attack some MLA. The ruling members demanded that the MLAs be suspended for a week.
“I am also concern…in fact entire nation is concern about what is happening in Manipur. Our Prime Minister and Home Minister are monitoring it and are taking steps. But such unruly behaviour cannot be accepted. They have literally attacked a MLA in the House,” Sawant said.
Arolkar said that the MLAs pulled his shirt, tried to mute his mike and also wore him the hat of a marshal. “House was insulted,” he said, demanding action.
Condemning the action, Speaker Tawadkar suspended the seven opposition MLAs from the Assembly for two days and said that the Opposition’s action and behaviour were an attempt to send a wrong message to the State.
