Panaji: The Goa Legislative Assembly’s monsoon session was adjourned twice on Monday morning after the ruling MLA moved breach of privilege against the opposition member.
The commotion started on the floor of the House before Question Hour when the monsoon session started.
BJP MLA Daji Krishna Salkar moved breach of privilege motion against Congress MLA Altone D’Costa for making statements against Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar.
On Friday, D’Costa had made a statement to the media that his resolution demanding political reservation for the Scheduled Tribe community in the Assembly was rejected by the Speaker.
On Monday, Salkar moved the motion, after which Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao questioned how the statement amounts to breach of privilege.
“Nothing stops us from moving a resolution. How it is breach of privilege?,” he questioned.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant intervened in the matter and demanded that Altone should tender apology to the Speaker. He said that statement by Altone to the media results into insult of the Speaker.
When commotion prevailed, the Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour initially.
When House assembled again, the ruling benches continued demanding breach of privilege be moved. The speaker again adjourned the House for another half an hour.
Talking to reporters, Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai said that the disruption of the House by ruling benches was a systematic move to avoid the Question Hour.
Sardesai said that he along with Congress MLA Carlos Ferreira had tabled a question on National Educational Policy (NEP) that would have exposed the state government.
“Government tried to avoid the question hour by disrupting the House,” he said.
