PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday ruled in favour of admitting the disqualification petition filed by the Indian National Congress and its 16 MLAs in the Goa Legislative Assembly.
Vishwajit Rane’s primary objection to admitting the petition was that only the speaker can decide a disqualification petition and that the Congress should have approached the office of the speaker first.
Speaking to The Goan after the order was delivered, Congress spokesperson Ramakant Khalap said that the decision was “a good order for the party”.
“The argument that only the speaker can decide a disqualification petition has not been accepted at this stage. It could be argued once again when the petition is being finally heard,” Khalap told The Goan.
The court has also directed that the hearing in the matter be expedited with both parties being given four weeks to complete their arguments.
With an intention to complete the hearings before the elections are held, the Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the Election Commission of India to notify the court well in advance about holding the by-elections.
“This is a good order for the Congress party and a jolt to the BJP who has committed a fraud on the constitution by failing to vote in favour of the Congress party and subsequently resigning,” Khalap told The Goan. The Congress filed the petition before the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking the disqualification of Rane from contesting elections, on grounds that he abstained from voting in favour of the party during the floor test despite having signed on the whip ahead of the vote.
The Congress has sought that Vishwajit Rane be barred from contesting the by-elections on grounds that he has violated the constitution as well as the anti defection law. Rane was one among 17 Congress MLAs elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly, but furious at the inability of the party to form a government, failed to turn up during the vote of confidence of the government.
While his presence would not have helped the Congress in any way, his absence was a severe embarrassment to the Congress party which consistently maintained that they had the right to be asked to form the government.
