PANAJI
The seven-member Opposition in the Goa legislative assembly was on collision course with the Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar after the latter refused to meet them on Tuesday morning and demanded a "public apology" from Goa Forward Party member Vijai Sardesai for the latter's charge that he (Speaker) was acting like an 'employee' of the Chief Minister.
The Opposition then knocked on the doors of the Raj Bhavan and sought the intervention of Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai to break the impasse.
Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao said, they have urged Pillai to resolve the stalemate between them and the Speaker over the "curtailed" winter session of the Assembly and other restrictions on the conduct of business.
Earlier in the day, Tawadkar addressed the media and lashed out at Sardesai for what he called "insult" to the chair with his remark that the Speaker is acting like an employee of the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
"He is a senior member. He knows very well that duration of the session is decided by the government. I could have understood if he was a new member," Tawadkar said and demanded that Sardesai publicly apologize.
He then said he will not keep the Tuesday appointment with the Opposition till Sardesai tendered the apology.
Tawadkar said, the duration of the session (length) is decided by the government while the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) approves the list of business.
"The role of the Speaker is to ensure fair and smooth conduct of the business during the session," Tawadkar said, and admonished Sardesai for deliberately making misleading statements and using slander to liken him to an 'employee' of the Chief Minister.
"It is an insult to the Speaker's chair," Tawadkar said.
The Opposition has closed ranks and raised objection to restricting the winter session to just four days.
Another bone of contention between the Opposition and the Speaker is the doing way altogether of "Private Member's Business" in the session.
On Monday, all seven Opposition MLAs had met at Alemao's invitation where they decided to meet the Speaker in a bid to increase the number of days of the session from the scheduled four.
It was then that Sardesai had made the remark against the Speaker which the latter has taken umbrage to.
The four-day winter session is slated to commence on January 16 and will begin with the customary Governor's address to the House.
