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BJP legislator Ganesh Gaonkar was elected Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly with a majority vote in a special session of the House Thursday.
Gaonkar, a tribal leader, secured 32 votes while the Opposition candidate Altone D’Costa of the Congress got seven votes in the 40-member House. A two-time MLA, Gaonkar was first elected on a BJP ticket in 2012 from Sanvordem constituency. He lost to MGP’s Deepak Pauskar in the 2017 polls and subsequently got re-elected in 2022 from Sanvordem. The Speaker’s post fell vacant after BJP MLA Ramesh Tawadkar was inducted into the Cabinet last month.
Addressing the Speaker, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said: “I’m confident that under your leadership, the proceedings of the House will be conducted with utmost dignity and efficiency”.
Congress’s Yuri Alemao, Leader of Opposition said that Speaker should be neutral and should not act like a “hop-on hop-off service”. “The Speaker’s post should not be like [a] hop-on-hop-off service, which will also travel to political office and take part in political business. I’m hopeful that Ganesh Gaonkar will respect the voice of Opposition and will allow us to speak and discuss the pressing issues of the state,” said Alemao.
Alemao said in the last three years, the sittings of assembly sessions have been curtailed.
“This trend needs to be stopped and adequate time has to be given to the Opposition. There are thousands of forest right claims cases pending that need to be cleared. I hope he will push this matter and help people,” he added.
Citing a judgement of the Supreme Court, Congress legislator Carlos Ferreira said the Speaker dons two hats – one is of the party and one when he sits on the chair as the Speaker.
“All that we ask as members of the Opposition is…please don that hat of a Speaker…forget the party. We don’t ask for favours. Just give us what is due to Opposition as and when we demand,” he said.
AAP legislators – Cruz Silva and Venzy Viegas – demanded that a discussion be held in the Assembly on the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state, particularly in the aftermath of the assault on activist Rama Kankonkar last week.
Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai urged the Speaker to use his experience in administration to allow the Opposition’s voices and ensure justice for Goa’s Scheduled Tribe community.
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