In a recent TV channel poll, ruling party MLAs rated their own cabinet as second class. How did this happen and how far does it hold water?
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Usually, cabinet ministers are alleged of favoring constituencies represented by the ruling party MLAs. Opposition cries step motherly treatments, partiality, lop sidedness. And here we have a government where ruling party MLAs are criticizing their own cabinet ministers of being inefficient. In Prudent’s snap poll of the ruling MLAs the average rating this cabinet received was 58 percent. In simple terms – second class.
Only three MLAs expressed that all 12 cabinet ministers are performing (this too may be out of fear than belief). Rest of the MLAs, including MGP and independents supporting this government placed this cabinet in the below average category. Ruling party MLAs cutting their own cabinet to size in an election year is not an ordinary scenario. However, desperate times demand desperate measures.
In the beginning, let us review various cabinet formations post 2000 as a decade before that we suffered from terminal instability and record number of governments with chief ministers. Going further back in the history, when Goa happened to be a union territory would be an unfair comparison. So let’s stick to the 21st century.
At the daybreak of the new millenium, then daredevil and charismatic Manohar Parrikar was holding the post of CM. He valued his cabinet in such a high esteem that he dissolved his own government without taking any of his cabinet colleagues into confidence.
Then it was Pratapsingh Rane’s turn, once again. He played “Dhritarashtra” to an extent where his Town and Country Planning minister crafted the draconian and destructive Regional Plan 2011. It took a mass movement and extraordinary public and media pressure for the octogenarian CM to reluctantly scrap the vicious plan.
Digambar Kamat had the most powerful cabinet. But that power never got translated into competence. Rather, CM’s ineffectiveness to perform his role as a leader of his party’s legislature wing and meek and pitiful attempts to put survival of his government above Goa’s interest led to his own cabinet ministers running independent offices of CM from their own fiefdoms. The sanctity of the position of the Chief Minister got totally eroded and his administration fully corroded.
Manohar Parrikar attained power one more time in 2012 and he had a bunch of inexperienced folks, most of them second time MLAs (except may be two) as his cabinet colleagues. Their incapability to perform in their role was so stark that Parrikar even boasted about him being “first among equals” and not “one among equals”. It sounded egotistical but it was true. We heard stories about Parrikar putting notes on the files of his ministers in pencil and his subservient lieutenants making optimum use of erasers to rewrite the notes in pen and sign below submissively.
All of us expected this scenario to change ideally after a year but it continued; firstly due to the lack of aptitude among our ministers and secondly because of Manohar Parrikar’s contentment with their lackluster performance as he could control all strings of the governance at once. He never allowed them to flourish and they, pretty self-content in their comfort zone, never tried.
This changed when Laxmikant Parsekar took over. He made it clear on day one – handle your own portfolios and clean your own mess. That was the time the real test of this cabinet’s character began. However, Parsekar was not given a slightest chance to amend the cabinet configuration coded in Parrikar’s image. He was forced to carry forward although by then everybody had a fair bit of an idea about who can shoulder the responsibilities and who malfunctions.
The best example of the comfort zone provided by Manohar Parrikar was Laxmikant Parsekar himself. His miserable and substandard performance as the health minister worried almost every Goan when he took over as the CM of this state. However, he performed quite well and came out as a straight forward, direct and practical manager. These qualities never came to the fore when Parrikar held charge. Now also, Raksha Mantri’s unsolicited interference in the state administration on weekends is not appreciated by the incumbent. Rather, he had clearly stated when he took over from his predecessor that guidance and advice would be needed during first three months and any interference thereafter would be unwelcomed.
Parrikar promised performance audit of his colleagues but never completed the exercise. At least two opportunities to reshuffle the pack were conveniently overlooked. BJP had many young and bright options to replace their faltering ministers but they were never given a chance.
The ruling lot today is frustrated precisely because of this precarious reality. Many of them fully realize their own potential and compare it with those who are acquiring the treasury benches. This cabinet has failed to take a single major policy decision. CM parted with an important portfolio like Town and Country Planning. But his DyCM is unable to come out with an appropriate Regional Plan. His Tourism Minister supports junkets but fails to declare a comprehensive tourism policy. GSIDC has become a super-ministry and BJP’s core group has become a super-cabinet. Parrikar has become super-CM and centre has become a super-financer. This cabinet lost its executive powers long back. Now it has lost its face and value. The ratings given by their own party legislators are absolutely correct. This bunch is nothing more than a second class.
Pramod Acharya is Editor, Prudent Media
