Five days after being on the receiving end of the pressure piled on by protestors and the ongoing fast unto death by St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar, the government seems to have realised that attack is the best form of defence. Moments after emerging from the meeting of BJP legislators on Wednesday evening, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that ten files from the TCP department had gone missing during the protest at the office and vowed strict action against those behind it.
On Thursday, the government swung into action. A FIR for “trespass and robbery” was lodged against 18 individuals, including Borkar, RGP President Manoj Parab and other leaders. A separate FIR was registered against Palem-Siridao villagers for trespassing into Minister Vishwajit Rane's private residence at Dona Paula on Monday.
In the background, the ongoing agitation has suffered setbacks with political divisions taking the steam off. The seething anger that was visible on Sunday and Monday has petered down even as Borkar continues to remain steadfast. He refused to accept the TCP Department’s letter on “suspending” zone changes in St Andre constituency, even as the government offered another one, this time on a letterhead.
While fundamentally, it is wrong to camp and protest inside a government office, even if it is a peaceful one, the FIRs against villagers over “missing files” is nothing but a vengeful counteraction to silence protesters and weaken the agitation. It is surprising that the department took five days to allege that ten files are missing. It also baffles why there is no supporting CCTV evidence to justify the charge of “robbery”.
It may be noted that the protestors were not all by themselves inside the office but were accosted by security personnel. The change in strategy was visible even as Borkar’s manhandling was being justified over his move to invade the TCP office and his defiance to vacate the premises. The FIRs will empower the police to handpick protesters and call them for questioning, thus weakening the agitation. And, it could also be used as a chip to settle matters with protesters.
Secondly, while pressure was piling on the government, theories were doing the rounds that this agitation has been fuelled by a section within the ruling dispensation opposed to the TCP Minister. This counter attack on the protesters appears to be a forceful reaction to dispel all speculations of internal politicking.
North Goa Collector Ankit Yadav, later Thursday evening, submitted a letter of “suspending” zone changes on an official letterhead. The question is whether the protesters are willing to climbdown from their demand of “scrapping” to “suspension”. Agreed that “scrapping” cannot be effected via a letter and will need legislative clearance, “suspension” is ambiguous and literally speaking means a “pause” or a “temporary hold”. With pressure mounted on all sides, this letter will be seen as a test of resilience for the agitation, especially for the fasting Borkar, who will otherwise have no other way out but to endure till March 6, when the Assembly session begins.
Regardless of the direction this agitation takes, and even though the government has offered to suspend zone changes in St Andre constituency, the war against Section 39(A) is going to continue with several villages gearing up to take up cudgels. The road ahead is going to get tougher, and hence the government will have to do some hard thinking and treat this matter with the urgency it deserves.
