Goa Speaker Pratapsinh Rane, while denying allegations of acting in a partisan manner, on Monday said he does not accept the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to entertain petitions arising out of proceedings of the House. He defended his action restraining two Opposition MLAs from casting votes in a Confidence Motion while Chief Minister Digambar Kamat opposed the plea of a BJP-led alliance for a fresh floor test when mandate was in his favour by voice vote in the House.“It is also denied that the order is perverse, malafide, unreasonable or capricious,” Rane stated in his short yet crisp response to the allegations leveled against him by Sudin and Deepak Dhavalikar, who challenged his order of restraining them along with one dissident Congress legislator from voting in the House during the Motion of Confidence moved by the Chief Minister in the Supreme Court.The CM, on his part, also questioned the relief sought by the MLAs, contending that a fresh floor test cannot be considered as he had already sought vote of confidence as ordered by the Governor on July 30, 2007 that was passed by voice vote.The Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran adjourned the hearing to August 17, after being pointed that disqualification petitions against the MLAs are pending before the Speaker, and that Rane would hear them on August 16.Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said it was a delaying tactics and first of the interim order was required to go.However, the Bench said “we cannot restrain Speaker from hearing the petitions on August 16”.
