Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Congress Leader Girish Chodankar today said that Dr Ramesh Tawadkar, the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, has shamelessly admitted that he is not an independent neutral authority sitting over the most highly respected constitutional position but is an agent of the BJP government.
In a recent interview with one of the TV channels, Dr. Ramesh Tawadkar admits that he belongs to the BJP government, when the speaker should be above all the political parties and uphold the sanctity of the constitutional office.
“But, sadly, he admits through this statement that he is a party man, which means he simply does not want to be impartial,” said Chodankar
He further said that the speaker’s role in a democracy is to uphold neutrality and fairness as an impartial arbitrator above political considerations.
“Precisely this is the reason Dr Tawadkar sat down on the disqualification petitions over 24 months, to save “his government”. And while disposing of the petitions, more strikingly, he said, “Let them go to court and appeal against my verdict.” he added
Initially through his actions and now with the public submission, Dr Tawadkar has proved beyond doubt that the authority like the Speaker simply cannot decide over most crucial issues like disqualifications, he added
“I must remind the speaker that his own partial inaction has compelled me to approach the High Court and Supreme Court to hear my petition. It is also crystal clear that he played with democratic norms and hoodwinked the Constitution of India by sitting over his decisions on disqualification petitions for so long” Chodankar sair
He asserted that defections are detrimental; however, despite having the authority to disqualify them, he upheld defection, undermining the very essence of the Anti-Defection Law.
Such delays and contradictory actions erode public trust in the Speaker’s impartiality and undermine the credibility of this vital constitutional office.
The Speaker’s credibility lies not in rhetoric but in actions that demonstrate fairness and a commitment to the democratic values of accountability and integrity.
