Goa Speaker demands apology from GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai for ’employee of CM’ remark

PANAJI, (PTI): The Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Tuesday demanded an apology from Goa Forward Party (GFP) MLA Vijai Sardesai, who termed him as an “employee of the chief minister”.

Opposition MLAs, however, have scheduled a meeting with Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai to present their demands after the Speaker’s refusal to meet them. Talking to reporters in Porvorim, Tawadkar said he will not meet the Opposition MLAs till Sardesai tenders an apology for his statement, which he claimed was an insult to the Speaker’s post.

Sardesai had on Monday demanded that the Speaker should include a ‘Private Members Day’ in the upcoming session of the Assembly to be held from January 16-19.

Briefing the media, the GFP MLA had said that the Speaker was acting like “an employee of the chief minister”.

Tawadkar said he has already informed Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao that he will not meet them till Sardesai tenders an apology.

“The length of the Assembly session is decided by the government, while business in the session is decided by the Business Advisory Committee. I have no role to play in it,” Tawadkar said, accusing the Opposition MLAs of unnecessarily dragging the post of Speaker in the controversy.

He further said the opposition members should have met him before going to the media and making any statement against him.

“I would have tried to understand their demand and present it before the state government,” the Speaker said.

Meanwhile, the Opposition MLAs are scheduled to meet Governor Pillai with their demands.

A senior MLA said that they will be meeting the governor at Raj Bhavan around 3.30 pm. (PTI)