Panaji, Dec 28 Goa Forward MLA Vijai Sardesai on Wednesday said that he is ready to apologise to Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar if he extends the winter session's duration by 15 days.
Tawadkar on Tuesday had sought apology from Sardesai for his remark against him.
"Sardesai has hatched a conspiracy... while defaming the government, he is also defaming the Speaker's post and the Assembly. He said the Speaker is an employee of the Chief Minister. As a Speaker, I condemn this statement. He has insulted this post," Tawadkar had said.
However, Sardesai on Wednesday clarified that he meant to say that the "government should not treat Speaker as its employee and use his office to shorten the Assembly session".
"I am not hesitating to apologise. If he feels that I have insulted him, then I am ready to apologise if he extends the session by 15 days," Sardesai said, adding the four day session scheduled from January 16 to 19 is not enough to raise all issues.
"I am ready to apologise because I want to raise issues pertaining to the state," he said.
According to Sardesai, the members will not get enough time to discuss several issues pertaining to the state during the four-day session.
Sardesai on Tuesday had criticised the way Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has "finished" legislative democracy. "He is pressurising the office of the Speaker and making him work unconstitutionally. He is pressurising him because there are so many scams and he can't face the public. He is afraid of us despite having 33 MLAs," he said.
Sardesai had also pointed out that opposition MLAs will be deprived of 'Private Members Business' (tabled only on Fridays) as the winter session concludes on Thursday.
Earlier, during the monsoon session, which was trimmed to mere 10 days, the opposition MLAs had levelled several allegations against the BJP government for not giving enough time to discuss issues.
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