Congressmen file disqualification pleas against eight defectors

Panaji: Congressmen have filed two disqualification petitions before the speaker of the Goa legislative assembly against its eight former MLAs, including ex-CM Digambar Kamat and former leader of opposition Michael Lobo, who joined BJP in September.
“We will issue notices to the respondents in the disqualification petition,” speaker Ramesh Tawadkar told TOI.
Out of two disqualification petitions, one was filed by former state Congress president Girish Chodankar. In his petition, Chodankar said, “In the present case there is no merger of the original political party — Indian National Congress and the said party is still existing and is duly recognised and consequently there cannot be claim of valid merger as contemplated under Tenth Schedule by the respondent.”
He said that the action of former Congress MLAs claiming merger of legislature party into BJP does not amount to a valid merger of a political party under the Tenth Schedule on account of the fact that a merger could only be of a political party with any other political party.
“Disqualification petitions have been filed by Congress workers. Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has taken a decision to file a disqualification petition and it is in the final stage of being drafted. Once we complete the draft and after getting approval from high command, we will file the disqualification petition as Congress,” state Congress president Amit Patkar told TOI.
On September 14, eight months after they did a run to a temple, a chapel and a mosque taking a vow not to defect from Congress and even signing an affidavit pledging their loyalty to the party, eight of the 11 MLAs “merged” the party’s legislative wing into BJP taking the saffron party’s strength to 28 in the 40-member House.
In July when the then Congress MLAs made an attempt to join BJP, Patkar had filed a disqualification petition before the speaker against Kamat and Lobo.