The office of the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Sunday received two disqualification petitions against eight now-former Congress MLAs, who split the party's legislative unit and merged it into the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, the two petitions were filed by former state Congress president Girish Chodankar and a local Congress leader Dominic Noronha.
"We have received their disqualification petitions," Tawadkar told reporters.
Congress had 11 MLAs in the 40-member state assembly following the assembly polls earlier this year, but September's departure of its eight MLAs reduced the party's legislative strength to three. The split was engineered by former CM Digambar Kamat and former minister of the BJP-led government in Goa Michael Lobo.
According to the disqualification petition filed by Chodankar, the merger of the eight legislators into the BJP was invalid. Chodankar has also said that the legislators should be disqualified as MLAs of the state assembly under Article 191 (2) of the Constitution of India read with para 2 (1) (a) of tenth schedule of Constitution of India.
“Pending hearing and final disposal of the matter, this Speaker be pleased to restrain Respondent No. 1 to 8 (Rebel MLAs) from functioning as the Members of Legislative Assembly and/or holding any Constitutional post or office of profit,” Chodankar's petition said.
Published 13 November 2022, 15:16 IST