PANAJI

The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, member of the BJP-led ruling alliance in Goa, has filed a petition before the High Court saying that three BJP MLAs including Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar were terminally ill and in no position to attend the assembly session if convened for a floor test.

The petition, which was filed before the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday also alleges that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had triggered defections from the Congress to ensure that it could not claim a majority and a right to form the government.

The petition, filed by Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leaders Satyawan Palkar and Vikas Prabhu, also requested the court to set aside Goa Speaker Pramod Sawant’s order accepting the resignations of two former Congress MLAs and also forbid them from contesting any elections for six years.

The Election Commission of India, Chief Electoral Officer, Goa, Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, Secretary Legislature and former Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte have been named as respondents in the petition.