PANAJI
The Congress has said it is in the process of filing a "contempt petition" before the Supreme Court of India against Goa Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar for what it said was the latter's 'deliberate delay' in deciding the disqualification petitions against the eight Congress MLAs who defected to the BJP last year.
Former Congress State chief, Girish Chodankar, said Tawadkar has deliberately not complied despite being repeatedly informed about the mandate laid down by Supreme Court in its Keisham Meghachandra Singh judgment that disqualification petitions have to be decided within three months.
Chodankar, who was recently named a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, had earlier filed a petition before the Apex Court to direct the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly to dispose of the disqualification petition filed before him nearly a year ago.
The Supreme Court heard this petition on Friday and issued notices to the Goa Speaker and the eight MLAs against who the disqualification petition was filed -- former chief minister Digambar Kamat, (then) Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Rajesh Faldesai, Aleixo Sequeira and Rudolf Fernandes.
The eight legislators had switched from the Congress to the BJP on September 14 last year, leaving the Opposition party depleted to a strength of just three in the House of 40.
