This story is from January 26, 2020

Party-hopping MLAs: Hearings on February 13, 14

Goa speaker Rajesh Patnekar will begin hearings in the two disqualification petitions filed by Congress and MGP against their MLAs who joined BJP. The speaker has scheduled the hearing for February 13 and 14 .
Party-hopping MLAs: Hearings on February 13, 14
Rajesh Patnekar
PANAJI: Goa speaker Rajesh Patnekar will begin hearings in the two disqualification petitions filed by Congress and MGP against their MLAs who joined BJP. The speaker has scheduled the hearing for February 13 and 14 .
“You (MLAs and petitioners) are requested to take notice. In default of your appearance, either in person or through counsel, the petition shall be heard and determined in your absence,” the notice issued to petitioners and respondents said.
In May 2019, senior MGP functionary and former deputy chief minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar filed a petition before the speaker seeking disqualification of deputy CM Manohar Ajgaonkar and PWD minister Deepak Pauskar, who quit MGP to join BJP in March 2019.

The MGP challenged their claim that two-thirds of MGP legislature party has merged with BJP. MGP had three MLAs in the 40-member House, and it has now been reduced to one.
Dhavalikar had said that the 10th schedule of the Constitution does not postulate such a merger, by which the members of the legislature party would meet at midnight and claim that a merger has taken place.
In August 2019, Congress filed a disqualification petition against their 10 rebel MLAs who joined BJP in July 2019. State Congress president Girish Chodankar had sought that the 10 MLAs be restrained from attending assembly proceedings and holding constitutional posts till the case is decided by the speaker.

On July 10, rebel Congress MLAs led by Chandrakant Kavalekar joined BJP claiming that the Congress Legislature Party had split. The remaining nine MLAs were Isidore Fernandes, Nilkanth Halarnkar, revenue minister Jennifer Monserrate, Antonio Fernandes, Francisco Silveira, Wilfred Dsa, Clafasio Dias, Filipe Rodrigues and Atanasio Monserrate.
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