HC dismisses pleas seeking disqualification of 12 Goa MLAs, order upholds democracy, says CM

Panaji, Feb 24: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday welcomed the Bombay High Court's order rejecting two pleas seeking disqualification of 12 MLAs who switched over from their parties to the BJP, saying "democracy and constitutional mandate has prevailed over the smear campaign".

However, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar claimed this will encourage the BJP-led central government's "politics to change the mandate of people" with the use of money. The Goa bench of the HC upheld state Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar's order of last year dismissing two petitions seeking disqualification of 12 MLAs who left their respective parties and joined the ruling BJP in 2019.

Chodankar had filed one of the disqualification petitions against 10 party MLAs who switched over to the BJP in July 2019. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party had filed the other plea against its two MLAs, who joined the BJP in the same year by splitting the regional outfit.

The HC on Thursday said the "petitioners have not been able to make out a case for interference in the impugned orders passed by the Speaker". The court also said that the order passed by the Speaker rejecting the disqualification petitions "cannot be said to be militating against the object of introduction of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution on the touchstone of political and constitutional morality".

Reacting to the judgement, Sawant in a tweet said, "I welcome the decision of Hon. High Court in dismissing the appeal filed by Congress and MGP against merger of 12 MLAs into the BJP Legislature Party.

Democracy and constitutional mandate has prevailed over the smear campaign." However, Chodankar said the order was unexpected and he will challenge it in the Supreme Court because "the very existence of political parties is in question". He claimed the order has given power to MLAs to change the public mandate.

"The order will encourage politics of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre...with the use of money, they can change the mandate of the people," the Congress leader told reporters outside the court building. The order is against the democratic values. "It is going to set a bad precedent, not only for the Congress but all political parties in the country, as after an election, a few MLAs can come together and take a decision to join another party," he claimed.

"The very spirit of the Tenth Schedule (of the Constitution) has been destroyed by this order. The purpose of the Tenth Schedule is to prevent defection and horse trading. It is necessary that this order needs to be challenged," he said. Advocate Abhijit Gosawi, representing Chodankar, said the order is going to question the role of political parties in the democratic process. "It will happen that two-third of the members will take a certain decision and the political party will have no say in the process," he added. PTI