the goan I network
MAPUSA
Days after he was elected as the MLA of Mapusa defeating rival Congress candidate Sudhir Kandolkar, BJP’s Joshua D’Souza said he would resign as the councillor of Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) only after obtaining legal advice in the matter.
“The term of the MMC will end in a little over a year’s time. If I resign now, by-election will have to be held in my ward. The ensuing code of conduct may hamper progress in the city. I will consult the State’s legal team before taking any decision,” D’Souza said.
Incidentally, D’Souza’s father was also the chairperson of the Mapusa Municipal Council when he was first elected as the MLA of Mapusa in 1998.
D’Souza informed that recently on the occasion of his oath taking ceremony, Speaker Michael Lobo had advised him to resign as councillor within 15 days.
“I will seek advice from the legal team of the chief minister’s office before rushing into a decision,” he averred.
D’Souza was elected as a councillor of the Mapusa Municipal Council in October 2015. He was elected to the Goa State Assembly from Mapusa constituency on May 23, 2019.
Incidentally, both the main rivals in the by-election for Mapusa “ Joshua D’Souza and Sudhir Kandolkar “ were councillors in the Mapusa civic body.
While D’Souza is a first-time councillor and elected from Ward 13, Kandolkar is a senior councillor and also a three-time chairperson of Mapusa elected from Ward 19.
The Representation of People’s Act (1950) disallows any person from simultaneously holding the positions of an MP and an MLA.
The central law, however, does not talk about a person holding positions of an MP/MLA and a position in the local body simultaneously.
