Goa Speaker rejects plea to disqualify 8 Congress MLAs who joined BJP
Panaji: Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar has dismissed the disqualification petition against eight MLAs who switched allegiance from Congress to the BJP in September 2022. Citing a recent Supreme Court ruling and a similar case, Dominic Noronha vs Digambar Kamat, the Speaker stated that since two-thirds of the Congress legislature party had supported the merger, the MLAs were protected under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and would not face disqualification.
The petition, filed by former state Congress president Girish Chodankar, sought to disqualify MLAs Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Sankalp Amonkar, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Faldessai, and Rodolfo Fernandes. Chodankar argued that by joining the BJP, the MLAs had voluntarily given up their Congress membership, warranting disqualification to prevent defection. Represented by Advocate Abhijit Gosavi, he emphasised the importance of party loyalty in a democratic setup, in line with the objective of the 10th Schedule.
However, the MLAs argued that they constituted two-thirds of the Congress legislature party and thus, legally merged with the BJP. They referenced the recent dismissal of a similar petition in the Noronha vs Kamat case. The Speaker supported this view, ruling that the disqualification claim was both factually and legally unfounded.
Chodankar, dissatisfied with the decision, announced plans to challenge the order in either the High Court or the Supreme Court.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
