8 Goa MLAs who jumped ship from Congress to BJP in 2022 get relief from Speaker

On September 14, 2022, the eight MLAs, claiming to form two-third of the Congress legislature party, had declared a “merger” with the BJP and sought protection under the Tenth Schedule.

The advocate representing the eight MLAs submitted that the Tenth Schedule does not contemplate the acceptance of the merger by the other political party. The advocate said that the merger was accepted by the BJP “as the respondents are sitting in the Assembly as BJP members”.

Dismissing the plea, Speaker Tawadkar observed that the facts and the factual issues in the petition are identical to another disqualification petition recently heard by him. On October 14, Tawadkar dismissed a disqualification petition filed by one Dominic Noronha against the eight MLAs.

In the judgment dated October 14 that was referred to in Friday’s order, the Speaker, citing a Supreme Court ruling, said, “The Tenth Schedule confers legitimacy to the actions of the legislators which would otherwise lead to disqualification if a number of legislators disagree with the political party. The independent existence of the Legislature Party is accepted as a defence to the action of legislators, which would have otherwise amounted to defection. This observation of the Hon’ble Supreme Court clearly holds that if two-thirds of the members of the Legislature Party disagree with the political party, such disagreement is protected and the same shall not incur a disqualification.”

In the order on Friday, the Speaker said, “Even the legal issues involved in both these cases are identical. I cannot have a different order than what I had passed in Noronha’s case.”

The Speaker said, “In simple words… Disqualification on the grounds of defection does not apply in case of merger.”

Chodankar told The Indian Express that the order amounted to “encouraging defections”. “I am confident that the Supreme Court will ultimately decide on this matter and disqualify the eight defecting MLAs in Goa,” he said.