GDA to challenge conduct of confidence vote in Supreme Court

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Goa Democratic Alliance (GDA) will today move the Supreme Court to challenge the victory of the Congress-led Digamber Kamat Government in the state Assembly.

Panaji, July 31 : The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Goa Democratic Alliance (GDA) will today move the Supreme Court to challenge the victory of the Congress-led Digamber Kamat Government in the state Assembly.

The GDA headed by the Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar said that they would challenge the manner in which the confidence vote was held in the Assembly on Monday.

Parrikar along with the BJP National General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy met the Goa Governor S C Jamir on Monday evening, and handed over the copy of the Assembly proceedings stating that the vote of confidence conducted by the Speaker was not as per the rule.

The GDA legislators are also planning to meet President Pratibha Patil and seek her intervention in the matter. Earlier, they had paraded themselves before Pratibha on Saturday.

Speaker Pratapsinh Rane, through an ad-interim order on disqualification petitions, had restrained three legislators from participating in the Assembly vote resulting in the Congress victory.

The Governor had on Saturday directed Kamat to undertake a floor test to prove his majority after the Congress Government was reduced to a minority.

During the floor test, two legislators of the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) - Sudin Dhavalikar and Dipak Dhavalikar - and Victoria Fernandes, the Congress MLA who had resigned from the State Assembly last week, were restrained from voting.

ANI