The move to install Jack Sequeira’s statue in the Goa Assembly complex is set to spark off tension on Goa’s political horizon while also opening up cracks between the BJP cadre and the Goa Forward Party. The BJP may have struck a defiant cord by turning down Goa Forward president Vijai Sardesai’s plans to go ahead with the statue, but GFP’s announcement that Dy Speaker Michael Lobo will move a resolution seeking installation of the statue has opened up a sea of probabilities.
The fate of the resolution, if and when it is moved, is a matter for separate discussion.
Moving a resolution itself exposes the coordination failure between alliance partners and means that the coordination committee has been bypassed. The cold war between Goa Forward and the BJP cadres is set to take a serious turn and it is against such a background that these fissures in the ruling coalition come under close scrutiny. The growing discomfort within the coalition is increasingly on display and was evident even in the recent taxi agitation. Senior members of the government were seen backing the lobby and remained mute spectators while the taximen took on the Chief Minister with full fury.
The concerns here are that issues of the State are being mixed with installation of a statue, where petty ego battles are being played out for political gains. While internal party matters and the discussions they hold in their meetings would be a prerogative of the BJP, Vijai showed poor political acumen in questioning the party over not discussing the Mhadei water dispute. Secondly, there is no reason or rhyme why Goa Forward has sounded an alarm over merging Goa with Karnataka if there is a failure over Mhadei water dispute. The water dispute issue should be treated independently and cannot run parallel to the statue imbroglio.
The political waters may have been mildly tested far ahead of an anticipated mid-term poll but the BJP and Goa Forward Party are well aware of the fact that going to polls at this stage could sound a death knell in view of the huge wave of resentment across the state. The anti-government sentiment has been so strong that citizens have been overlooking all the positives while taking on the ruling. The public outrage was in full display over issues like coal, river nationalization, Mhadei water and even the taxi ‘drama’ where government did a flip-flop despite a strong public outcry against the lobby.
In the absence of a consensus on issues, legislators should take the Goemkarponn initiative beyond the boundaries of politics and open up a public debate. This is where issues such as these should rest.
