CM wants to appoint pro-tem Speaker to disqualify Rane: Cong

Congress Saturday accused Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of trying to appoint a pliant pro-tem (temporary) Assembly Speaker who would disqualify his rival Vishwajit Rane.

Sawant's office denied that any such move was afoot.

Addressing a press conference, Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar claimed that the chief minister had begun the process to appoint a pro-tem Speaker even though deputy Speaker Michael Lobo is functioning as acting Speaker.

Sawant wants some pliant BJP MLA to be elected as a pro-tem Speaker who would then disqualify Vishwajit Rane, Sawant's rival in the BJP, he said.

Appointment of a pro-tem Speaker in this way will be unconstitutional, he said.

Sawant, who was the Speaker until March, stepped down from the post when he became chief minister following Manohar Parrikar's death.

The new Speaker will be appointed during the monsoon session of the legislature.

Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar has filed a petition seeking to disqualify Rane as MLA. Rane quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2017.

When contacted for reaction, the Chief Minister's Office denied the allegations.

"There is no move to appoint a pro-tem Speaker. The government has not initiated any such process," a senior CMO official said.