NT NETWORK
PANAJI
The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Election Commission and the Goa Assembly Speaker on a Congress plea seeking the disqualification of Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the parties to file their responses within six weeks.
The Congress party, in its petition has said that Vishwajit was elected as an MLA on its ticket and resigned before the BJP government proved its majority on the floor of the assembly last year. It also said that the Speaker wrongly accepted Vishwajit’s resignation as an MLA before the floor test.
The petition was filed on behalf of the Congress party by Goa desk in-charge and All India Congress Committee secretary A Chellakumar. The petition before the Supreme Court was filed challenging the High Court’s order dismissing the party’s disqualification petition against Vishwajit thus giving him relief in the matter.
The High Court had observed that it is inappropriate to express distrust in the high office of the Speaker merely because some of the Speakers are
alleged, or even found, to have discharged their functions not in keeping with the great traditions of that high office. The robes of the Speaker do change and elevate the man inside, the High Court had said.