Panaji (Goa): Trouble mounts up for Health Minister Vishwajit Rane ahead of the Valpoi by-elections as his former party- Indian National Congress has moved High Court, pleading that their former MLA be restrained from contesting the by-polls, which are likely to be held within four months.
In a disqualification petition filed before the Bombay High Court at Goa on Friday, the Congress party has prayed that the Minister should be disqualified for being chosen as Legislator of the State Assembly for next five years (2022) or till the House is dissolved.
The joint petition is filed by Indian National Congress, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, Congress Legislative Party and the 15 MLAs. The matter will be heard on May 16.
Vishwajit’s father and Congress Poriem MLA, Pratapsingh Rane is not a part of the petition.
“By abstaining from voting in the Goa Legislative Assembly on March 16, and by voluntarily giving up his membership from Indian National Congress Party, Rane had automatically incurred disqualification from being a member of the House from 16.03.2017 to 15.03.2022,” the petition reads.
The petitioners informed that the party had issued Whip to all its members and the same was signed by Rane.
“Therefore, in terms of Article 191 of the Constitution of India, he stood disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly between this period of five years as a mandate of Article 191 of the Constitution of India,” the Congress party prayed.
“Despite this constitutional mandate, Rane has not only joined a different political party on April 6, 2017 after voluntarily resigning from the Indian National Congress on March 16 but has also been conferred a Ministerial office by the present BJP Government in Goa for being dishonest to Indian National Congress,” it stated.
The petitioners claimed that, Rane’s move to join BJP, a month after resigning from Congress is against the very foundations of Indian democracy and cannot be acceptable in terms of law or under Article 191 of the Constitution of India.
The petitioners have made the then Pro-tem Speaker Siddharat Kuncolienkar as one of the respondents in the matter, along with Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Goa Government, Chief Electoral Office and the Election Commission of India.
The petitioners have further accused the Pro-tem Speaker of being in collusion with Rane in accepting his resignation and thereafter the latter joining BJP, of which the Pro-tem speaker is a member.
“There is fraud played by Kuncolienkar on the Constitution of India being in collusion with each other or other BJP MLAs. Kuncolienkar should not have accepted the resignation of Rane because he had already incurred disqualification by abstaining from voting in terms of the Whip,” the petitioner said.
The party said that Kuncolienkar had no power or authority or jurisdiction to accept Rane’s resignation because he was appointed by the Goa Governor for the specific purpose of constituting Goa Legislative Assembly by considering the motion of confidence in terms of the order issued by the Supreme Court.
Vishwajit is set to re-contest from Valpoi on BJP ticket.
Team TNV
