PANAJI: The Bharatiya Janata Party will soon file a disqualification petition against the Education Minister, Mr Atanasio Monserrate for allegedly violating the anti-defection law by joining the Congress party.

The opposition party, observing that a number of disqualification petitions against various MLAs are pending before the Speaker of the state legislative assembly, Mr Pratapsingh Rane for substantially long period, also maintained that if any decision is not reached on the same immediately, it would table a No-Confidence Motion against the Speaker, at the forthcoming Monsoon Session of the House. 
Addressing a press conference after attending the meeting of the legislature wing of the BJP on Friday, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Manohar Parrikar said that the meeting decided to approach the vice president of the United Goans Democratic Party, Mr Radharao Gracias, for documents required to file disqualification petition against the Education Minister. “On receipt of these documents, we will draft the petition and submit it to the Speaker,” he added.
Maintaining that absence of any MLA of the UGDP in the House has prevented the party from filing disqualification petition against its former member, Mr Parrikar said that the BJP would now do the job.
Speaking further, the leader of the opposition said that the meeting of the legislature wing of the BJP also discussed the role of the Speaker, since the Speaker, last year had refused to admit a No-Confidence Motion against himself. “The behaviour of the Speaker has been of partisan nature to the ruling party on many accounts,” he alleged, stating that the Speaker by not deciding various disqualification petitions has proved that he is a stooge in the hands of the ruling party.
“Furthermore, the BJP legislative wing expressed the opinion that the party, with all its strength should contest the Valpoi by-election, which would be held due to the resignation of the independent MLA, Mr Vishwajit Rane,” Mr Parrikar said, adding that the BJP would request the voters from the constituency to apply their minds for electing a better MLA, while casting their votes. “Nothing is impossible in an election, and Valpoi constituency is an open field for us,” he added. 
Mr Parrikar also pointed out that there was no need for Mr Vishwajit Rane to resign as a cabinet minister, while making entry in the Congress party. “He could have very well continued as a cabinet Minister without violating any rule,” the Leader of the Opposition pointed out, further stating that the swearing-in ceremony was not only waste of government money and waste of time of the government machinery but also ignorance of the protocol.
Alleging that the police have worked out a set up with notorious Israeli drug peddler, Yaniv Benaim alias Atala so that they as well as Atala are free from charges as regards the police-drug mafia nexus, Mr Parrikar said that the case would not disappear so easily and go ahead to haunt the government in the future.
It was also informed that the BJP would continuously grill the government on the drugs issue as well as issues like high security registration plates and excise/ alcohol scam, during the forthcoming session of the state legislative assembly.