Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was caught on camera pink in the face and an uncontrollable blush which he could hardly prevent from showing.
Pressed to respond with microphones thrust to his face by a swarm of cameramen to what they said was wholesome praise from an unlikely quarter -- Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray -- Sawant could only manage a "kaam borem kellear konui praise kartoloch nai". (If you do good work, someone will definitely praise you).
It so happened that Thackeray quoted the recent law enacted by the Sawant government to restrict sale of agricultural land to non-residents to drive home his raison d'etre in Maharashtra politics -- identity politics targeting North Indians.
Thackeray in a speech quoted Sawant as saying that he will not allow Goa to become a Gurgaon while passing the law. which he claimed mandates that agricultural land can be bought only for agricultural use.
"If farm land is bought it can only be used for farming. No other business can be done. Such a law has been passed in Goa...now...in 2023.” Thackeray is heard saying in the video clip of his speech.
"What he (Goviache CM) means is we will not allow the people from North India to buy agricultural land and do business,” Thackeray goes on to say.
So, with very little news flowing and hard up for news content, cameramen of the dozen-odd media and social media content producers rushed with the clip and what they perceived to be 'praise' for the Goa CM to get a reaction on camera. All they got is a blushing pink Sawant and his one-liner.
A closer scrutiny of the speech, however, reveals that in his inimitable sarcasm, Thackeray was actually exposing the hypocrisy of Sawant's BJP which is at loggerheads with Thackeray's MNS for its Marathi Manoos philosophy targeting North Indians.
"In Goa, the state BJP is running the government, the chief minister says in his speech that he will not give land to people coming from the north. If I say that, Raj Thackeray becomes anti-national” he says in the latter part of the speech.
But reality be damned. Sawant got his 30 seconds in the media glare, the dozen-odd outlets got their 'news content' and Goa's netizens material for their memes.
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Congress, BJP bhai bhai...
The two main opposition parties in the country may swear at each other in public but their leaders, many a time, seem to maintain a puzzling bonhomie with each other.
Take the case of a recently held meeting with supporters conducted by the Calangute Block Congress at Plumeria Hall in Gauravaddo, Calangute.
Nothing wrong with holding a meeting but the choice of the venue surprised us all.
Plumeria Hall is owned by Calangute Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira, who was the BJP candidate at the 2022 Assembly elections and continues to officially be a member of the saffron party.
We weren't the only ones who were taken aback with the Congress’ choice of the venue. Several netizens also shared similar opinions on social media platforms.
“Congress meeting in a BJP member’s hall...dal mein kuch kala hai," said Roshan Mathias, a social activist who incidentally had also contested the 2022 assembly elections from Calangute.
“Congress meeting in BJP man’s hall? Great! This shows harmony between Congress and BJP. Looks like both party members are like frogs from the same pond,” said another netizen.
After the Congress had given its party ticket to Michael Lobo who quit the BJP on the eve of the l2022 elections, several diehard Congressmen quit the grand old party, including Joseph Sequeira, who then joined the BJP and wast its unsuccessfully candidate.
With Lobo now back in the saffron fold, is Sequeira fancying his chances with the 'grand old party'? A direct convo with 'God' or perhaps tutorial with former chief minister Digambar Kamat may throws up answers for Sequeira.
As for us, like always, we will let time tell.
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Bandodkar overshadowed
on 50th death anniversary
In the second week of August, Goa every year stays busy celebrating the legacy of its first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar, arguably among the most revered Goan politicians of the bygone era.
This year should have been special, August 12 being his 50th death anniversary, with all media and government attention glued to the iconic leader. But it wasn't the case and instead it was the seventeenth century Maratha Warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji, that made all the headlines and hogged media space and air time.
The mischief by a set of three youths from the Catholic minority community, damaging a statue of the Maratha king at Karaswada, Mapusa, triggered a tense and explosive situation which threatened to disturb the peace.
With incidents such as the Karaswada-Mapusa one occurring with a frequency greater than even in neighbouring Maharashtra where Shivaji is a huge political icon, one cannot but wonder whether the ghost of 'merger' long buried by the historic Opinion Poll is being sought to be resurrected for politics?
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Colonial mindset or
poli-tricks at play?
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in a recent interview aired by Prudent Media reiterated his 'we have to come out of our colonial mindset' refrain when he was asked about the controversy he triggered with his "wipe out all traces of Portuguese rule" announcement.
Sawant went on to add that there were many kings and dynasties such as Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Mauryas and Kadambas, further asking why is it that when it comes to Goa's history, only the Portuguese has to be recalled.
That simply isn't the case in reality, and the onus is on his government to promote the legacies, history and archaeology of the kings and dynasties.
The CM claims to be clear on his 'stand'. Is he?
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