|
Panaji,
Feb
24:
Goa
Chief
Minister
Pramod
Sawant
on
Thursday
welcomed
the
Bombay
High
Court’s
order
rejecting
two
pleas
seeking
disqualification
of
12
MLAs
who
switched
over
from
their
parties
to
the
BJP,
saying
“democracy
and
constitutional
mandate
has
prevailed
over
the
smear
campaign”.
However,
Goa
Pradesh
Congress
Committee
president
Girish
Chodankar
claimed
this
will
encourage
the
BJP-led
central
government’s
“politics
to
change
the
mandate
of
people”
with
the
use
of
money.
The
Goa
bench
of
the
HC
upheld
state
Assembly
Speaker
Rajesh
Patnekar’s
order
of
last
year
dismissing
two
petitions
seeking
disqualification
of
12
MLAs
who
left
their
respective
parties
and
joined
the
ruling
BJP
in
2019.
Chodankar
had
filed
one
of
the
disqualification
petitions
against
10
party
MLAs
who
switched
over
to
the
BJP
in
July
2019.
The
Maharashtrawadi
Gomantak
Party
had
filed
the
other
plea
against
its
two
MLAs,
who
joined
the
BJP
in
the
same
year
by
splitting
the
regional
outfit.
The
HC
on
Thursday
said
the
“petitioners
have
not
been
able
to
make
out
a
case
for
interference
in
the
impugned
orders
passed
by
the
Speaker”.
The
court
also
said
that
the
order
passed
by
the
Speaker
rejecting
the
disqualification
petitions
“cannot
be
said
to
be
militating
against
the
object
of
introduction
of
the
Tenth
Schedule
of
the
Constitution
on
the
touchstone
of
political
and
constitutional
morality”.
Reacting
to
the
judgement,
Sawant
in
a
tweet
said,
“I
welcome
the
decision
of
Hon.
High
Court
in
dismissing
the
appeal
filed
by
Congress
and
MGP
against
merger
of
12
MLAs
into
the
BJP
Legislature
Party.
Democracy
and
constitutional
mandate
has
prevailed
over
the
smear
campaign.”
However,
Chodankar
said
the
order
was
unexpected
and
he
will
challenge
it
in
the
Supreme
Court
because
“the
very
existence
of
political
parties
is
in
question”.
He
claimed
the
order
has
given
power
to
MLAs
to
change
the
public
mandate.
“The
order
will
encourage
politics
of
the
Narendra
Modi
government
at
the
Centre…with
the
use
of
money,
they
can
change
the
mandate
of
the
people,”
the
Congress
leader
told
reporters
outside
the
court
building.
The
order
is
against
the
democratic
values.
“It
is
going
to
set
a
bad
precedent,
not
only
for
the
Congress
but
all
political
parties
in
the
country,
as
after
an
election,
a
few
MLAs
can
come
together
and
take
a
decision
to
join
another
party,”
he
claimed.
“The
very
spirit
of
the
Tenth
Schedule
(of
the
Constitution)
has
been
destroyed
by
this
order.
The
purpose
of
the
Tenth
Schedule
is
to
prevent
defection
and
horse
trading.
It
is
necessary
that
this
order
needs
to
be
challenged,”
he
said.
Advocate
Abhijit
Gosawi,
representing
Chodankar,
said
the
order
is
going
to
question
the
role
of
political
parties
in
the
democratic
process.
“It
will
happen
that
two-third
of
the
members
will
take
a
certain
decision
and
the
political
party
will
have
no
say
in
the
process,”
he
added.
PTI
Story first published: Thursday, February 24, 2022, 14:27 [IST]