PANAJI
Goa Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Tuesday said the disqualification pleas filed against Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat will be processed as per the law but after the end of the ongoing monsoon session of the legislative assembly.
On Tuesday, Tawadkar acknowledged his office had received the petitions but it was not possible to hear them now with the session on.
"The Assembly session is going on. It is not possible to hear the petition now as everyone is busy. It can be done only after the Assembly session. We will process the petitions as per rules and give directions accordingly,” Tawadkar told reporters.
The Congress on Tuesday, meanwhile, continued to push for issue of process in its petitions seeking the disqualification of Lobo and Kamat for "anti-party activities" which it claims amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party.
The Congress State president Amit Patkar had claimed earlier in the day that the Speaker had asked them to stay present for a hearing.
The petitions were filed by Patkar after AICC general secretary in-charge of Goa desk, Dinesh Gundu Rao accused the duo of conspiring to engineer defections of Congress MLAs in cahoots with the ruling BJP.
Gundu Rao and senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik had rushed to Goa to fire-fight a brewing rebellion in the party's legislative wing after reports had emerged last Friday that a group of MLAs was set to jump ship to the treasury benches.
The matter has blown over for now but the situation is yet to fully normalise with Lobo removed as CLP leader, a new leader yet to be named and Kamat publicly expressing his angst.
