The arrest of seven members of the Revolutionary Goans over what was termed as unruly behaviour at Shiroda is in basic violation of democratic norms and another attempt to curb people's fundamental right to expression. Apparently, the pitch laid out by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and local MLA Subhash Shirodkar did not go down well with the members of the Revolutionary Goans, who resorted to vocal outbursts and mocking the leaders.
In a democracy, people, activists and parties have an equal right to question representatives and the administration, and any criticism of policies or failures need to be taken in the right spirit. Justice Chandrachud speaking recently on the topic "Speaking Truth to Power: Citizens and the Law" stated that in a democratic country it is important to hold governments in check and guard against falsehoods, false narratives and fake news. He held that democracy needs the power of truth to survive and as such "speaking truth to power" can be considered as a right as well as a duty of every citizen. He observed that "totalitarian governments constantly rely on falsehood in order to establish dominance". Justice Deepak Gupta once observed that the right to dissent is the "biggest" and "most important right" granted by the Constitution and he said it includes the right to criticise and "there can be no democracy without dissent."
With the Shiroda meeting concluded, the leaders on the dais could have ignored the uproar and chaos in the background and instead walked away. It appears that political egos were hurt, and by pressing the police machinery into action, the government has exposed its intolerance. An attempt was made to intimidate and silence voices that raise questions. Against the vitriolic campaign targeted at the CM, such clampdown will only provide ammo to the Opposition who is waiting to pounce in the name of democracy.
The Shiroda meeting saw Sawant explain the avenues created by his government and the many schemes that are aimed to help Goans. In a politically charged environment where the opposition parties have the questions and the government is ready with answers, holding a discourse on the lines of the "power debate" could help to diffuse tension. The question is, why is the government not engaging critics via an open debate?
Any establishment is bound to face hurdles and dissension, what is paramount is how leaders keep their composure and deal with situations. A non-violent approach adopted by Revolutionary Goans is appreciated, but resorting to publicly mocking and abusing the chief minister of the State only vitiates the environment and becomes a needless provocation.
Revolutionary Goans are known to be highly critical of the CM and many other political leaders through their social media campaigns. As a political outfit, they are well within their rights to expose failures and falsehoods and bring them before common citizens. The bottom line is that the powers of the government and the liberties of dissenting citizens should never be driven by intimidation and abuse.
