Panaji, Jan 1 (IANS): Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar on Wednesday urged Speaker Rajesh Patnekar to expedite proceedings in connection with a disqualification petition filed against 10 MLAs, who quit the Opposition party in July last year to join the BJP.

In his petition filed before the office of the Speaker, Chodankar has also said, that there was unreasonable delay in processing his application filed on August 8, 2019 and the delay in disposal of disqualification petition, amounts to defeating the very purpose and objectives of anti-defection law as contained in Schedule X of the Constitution.

"The applicant states that since the filing of the captioned petition in the month of August, 2019, there has been no meaningful progress in the matter and the adjudication in the matter is being unreasonably delayed," Chodankar said in his petition filed before the Speaker on Wednesday.

"The delay in deciding the disqualification proceedings is against the very grain and object of Schedule X of the Constitution. It is submitted that justice delayed is justice denied and in present case the delay caused in delivery of justice is giving undue and undeserving benefit to the respondents to illegally continue as member of the legislative assembly," Chodankar also said.

10 Congress MLAs split from the party last month and subsequently merged the breakaway group into the BJP.

In all, 13 Congress MLAs from Goa have quit the party and joined the BJP since 2017.