Disqualification Denied: Goa Speaker Upholds BJP Merger of Congress MLAs

Goa assembly speaker Ramesh Tawadkar dismissed a disqualification petition filed by Congress against eight of its MLAs who defected to BJP. The petition argued the merger did not meet constitutional requirements. However, the speaker ruled that disqualification for defection does not apply in cases of party merger.

In a significant political development, Goa assembly speaker Ramesh Tawadkar dismissed a disqualification petition filed by the Congress against eight of its MLAs who joined the BJP last year.

The petition was spearheaded by former Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar and argued that the MLAs, including Digambar Kamat and Aleixo Sequeira, failed to meet constitutional provisions for a valid merger.

Tawadkar ruled against disqualification, stating that a party merger protects members from disqualification proceedings, acknowledging a merger within legislative protocol.

(With inputs from agencies.)