<p>Goa Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar on Thursday heard a petition filed by the Congress, seeking disqualification of its 10 formers MLAs who joined the BJP last year.</p>.<p>Lawyers of the 10 respondents (MLAs) and the petitioner, Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar, appeared before the speaker.</p>.<p>"The ten MLAs have sought time to file their replies, which I have granted. The next date of hearing would be announced soon," Patnekar said.</p>.<p>Chodankar last year filed the disqualification petition against the 10 MLAs, including Goa Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, who switched over to the BJP in July 2019.</p>.<p>He termed the legislators' act of joining the saffron party as "illegal".</p>.<p>After the hearing on Thursday, Chodankar said his lawyer informed the Speaker that a recent Supreme Court judgment emphasised that disqualification petitions should be decided within a time-frame.</p>.<p>"The speaker said he will take note of the SC judgment while deciding on the time (to decide on the petition)," he informed.</p>.<p>The Supreme Court last month asked Parliament to ponder over a speaker's power in deciding petitions seeking disqualification of lawmakers, while observing that he also belongs to a political party.</p>
<p>Goa Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar on Thursday heard a petition filed by the Congress, seeking disqualification of its 10 formers MLAs who joined the BJP last year.</p>.<p>Lawyers of the 10 respondents (MLAs) and the petitioner, Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar, appeared before the speaker.</p>.<p>"The ten MLAs have sought time to file their replies, which I have granted. The next date of hearing would be announced soon," Patnekar said.</p>.<p>Chodankar last year filed the disqualification petition against the 10 MLAs, including Goa Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, who switched over to the BJP in July 2019.</p>.<p>He termed the legislators' act of joining the saffron party as "illegal".</p>.<p>After the hearing on Thursday, Chodankar said his lawyer informed the Speaker that a recent Supreme Court judgment emphasised that disqualification petitions should be decided within a time-frame.</p>.<p>"The speaker said he will take note of the SC judgment while deciding on the time (to decide on the petition)," he informed.</p>.<p>The Supreme Court last month asked Parliament to ponder over a speaker's power in deciding petitions seeking disqualification of lawmakers, while observing that he also belongs to a political party.</p>