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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Man accused of rape-murder of 5-year-old lynched to death in Bengal; Girl’s body found in pond
Alipurduar: A 40-year-old man accused of raping and murdering a five-year-old girl was allegedly tied to a tree and beaten to death by agitated locals in Alipurduar district located in West Bengal on Friday evening. Later, another man surrendered before the police claiming he was also involved in the crime, and was subsequently arrested.
The girl went missing on Friday evening. When her family began searching for the girl, they learned that she had last been seen with Mona Roy, as reported by the Indian Express.
The police said that the girl’s body was found floating in a local pond. They added that the locals caught Roy and took him to his residence where they allegedly noticed blood on the bed. Enraged by this, they tied Roy to a tree and started assaulting him.
Roy was beaten to death before the local police could reach the spot.
When the police arrived at the scene, angry locals prevented them from moving the two bodies. Eventually, a large team of police personnel was sent to the location. After two hours, they were able to remove the bodies from the area.
The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, a man named Bhakta Roy approached the police, claiming that he was involved in the crime and feared for his safety from the angry mob. He was subsequently arrested.
Y. Raghuvanshi, Superintendent of Police, Alipurduar, asserted it is a heinous crime, adding that they have started a detailed investigation in connection to the incident.
