Goa opposition walks out of assembly

Panaji, August 1: The Goa opposition on Monday walked out during the ongoing assembly monsoon session, accusing Speaker Anant Shet of adopting "different standards" while dealing with controversies related to ministers and the opposition.

Led by Leader of Opposition Pratapsinh Rane, opposition members walked out during Question Hour when Tourism Minister DIlip Parulekar was being grilled over a controversy surrounding land acquisition in Tiswadi sub-district in north Goa.

"I and Babush Monserrate (unattached Congress MLA) had jointly asked a question on the acquisition of land, but were not getting a chance to speak. The replies given by the government had glaring discrepancies. Now we are intending to move it as a calling attention motion. We will prove that different laws apply to different persons," Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai later told reporters.

"While the Goa Anti-Corruption Bureau has registered a case against former Tourism Minister Nilkanth Halankar and former Housing Board Chairman Elvis Gomes on charge of irregularities in land acquisition, we are not being allowed to ask questions in a similar case related to this government," Sardesai said.

Monserrate, who was also a part of the walkout, said the Speaker was using "delaying tactics" to thwart the opposition from asking questions.

IANS