The ongoing assembly session, which was, until now, smooth in terms of functioning, saw some sudden turbulence and chaos over Manipur on Monday. Opposition members rose on their feet, demanding a discussion on violence-torn Manipur. They rushed to the Well of the House shouting slogans and later gheraoed Mandrem MLA Jeet Arolkar as he began speaking. Some members jostled Arolkar, his papers flung to the floor, his mic put down, and one member even forced on him a cap taken from a security guard. Unprecedented scenes unfolded as the Opposition members, all attired in black, tried to pass on a message.
What began as a banter and sort of light mocking, with even Arolkar smiling all around, turned into a severe slugfest with the roar from Minister for Legislative Affairs Nilesh Cabral and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and promptly joined on the sidelines by Power Minster Sudin Dhavalikar and Margao MLA Digambar, all calling for strict action. Cabral not only objected to the opposition behaviour but sought their expulsion from the House for one week for breach of rules of the Assembly.
The Speaker may have exercised leniency and announced an expulsion until Tuesday, later curtailed till noon, but a host of questions surrounded the development. Firstly, whether such action was necessary when crucial business on education was lined up for the day. In doing what it did, the Opposition has only allowed the government to pass the ‘education’ test without the question paper. The only point that the Opposition perhaps made was that it showed how much it was seized with Manipur and how strongly they wanted a discussion.
Risking the business of the House with such showmanship indicates that politicos are playing to the galleries and are not aligning themselves with the priorities before them. Moving to the Well of the House, shouting slogans and displaying placards are accepted forms of protest that all Oppositions resort to. The action that followed needs condemnation, no matter the reasoning behind it.
Assume a situation where the Speaker, who said he would decide on a discussion on Friday, does not allow that as stated, and the session concludes as scheduled on August 10. The Opposition would have still made their point causing embarrassment to the treasury benches for refraining from discussing the most burning issues of India while debating on some trivial issues that did not merit State attention. The Opposition would still come out with their head high of trying their best.
The State is watching, there are students viewing proceedings from the gallery, and perhaps thousands of Goans scattered worldwide are watching too. Despite the small numbers, the Opposition has to get the credit for taking up issues of citizens and the State and seeking answers from the government. However, against all the excellent work, it set a poor example on Monday by literally making a mockery of the proceedings, the Speaker and senior members of the House. Momentarily, it appeared that the Opposition was running riot, with even the guards taken off guard. The legislative members must uphold the dignity of colleagues and respect the hallowed precincts of the House at all times.
