JOIN USGoa Congress files third disqualification petition against eight turncoat MLAs
A third disqualification petition was filed before the Goa legislative assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Friday, this time by state Congress president Amit Patkar, against eight party MLAs, who split the Congress legislative party in September this year, to merge with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking to reporters after submitting the disqualification petition to the office of the Speaker, Congress MLA and advocate Carlos Ferreira said that the party had delayed filing the third petition because it wanted to iron out any likely flaws.
“We had decided to file a petition so we have filed it. Petition was ready, but we wanted to make sure that all elements are right, so we have filed it today,” Ferreira told reporters, in the presence of the petitioner, state party president Amit Patkar. "This is an arguable case and we should win it,” Ferreira had said.
This is the third disqualification petition against the eight MLAs who had joined the BJP in September. The Congress had also filed yet another disqualification petition against its two MLAs, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and former Goa government minister Michael Lobo, after the duo had tried to split the party in July this year. The effort had failed, after Kamat and Lobo could not manage to get the required numbers.
After the departure of eight Congress MLAs earlier this year, the legislative strength of the Congress has dropped from 11 legislators to three in the 40-member state legislative assembly.