Aleixo Sequeira
Recently anointed minister Aleixo Sequeira has made a comeback to the State cabinet after more than 11 years. But measured by the weight of portfolios allocated to him, his re-entry appears a tad lightweight, what with the hefty Public Works Department, held by Nilesh Cabral who he replaced, retained by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Worse, Sequeira could find himself in a bit of a spot dealing with and tackling matters under the Environment portfolio allocated to him. For instance, tackling the contentious exercise of preparing and finalising Goa's Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and issues related to coal handling and transportation linked to the linear projects which a large section of Goa opposes could land the brand new minister in a predicament, now that he is no longer in the Opposition and the shoe is fitted on his foot.
Time will tell how the veteran of politics manages this tight-rope walk.
Cabral gone, are Mauvin, Babush on a sticky wicket?
Now that the issue of Cabral being replaced in the cabinet is done and dusted with him resigning and Sequeira being inducted, the focus is on what next... rather who next, with another heavyweight politician -- former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat -- waiting in the wings for his share of the 'reward' for the defection effected by them in September last year.
Talk in the corridors of power point to two cabinet ministers -- Mauvin Godinho and Atanasio (Babush) Monseratte -- batting on sticky wickets. Apparently, the Godinho-Monserrate duo were also sounded out along with Cabral about the possibility of them having to shed their place in the cabinet. Eventually, the axe may have fallen on Cabral, but like is always the case in politics, it may not be the end.
Cabral himself let the cat out of the bag when he, a day or two before putting in his papers, tried to put up a brave front and told the media that he had not got any intimation either from the Chief Minister or the party High Command asking him to quit. "Why will I have to resign? I don't have any fraud case or any rape cases against me," Cabral had said when a journalist asked him about the speculation that he will be replaced in the cabinet.
Clearly, Cabral's comment was aimed at the Godinho-Monserrate duo and an unsuccessful last-ditch effort by him to survive the party's move to finally reward Sequeira for last September's switch of loyalty. While Godinho is facing a trial in the 'power subsidy scam' case of the 1990s, Monserrate is going through similar motions in the 2016 case of alleged rape of a minor.
Mapusa council: No need of Oppn when a ruling man does the job
Some may say that the Mapusa Municipal Council chairperson Priya Mishal’s outbursts on Wednesday were basically to shut up the opposition councillors. But more than the opposition, it was a ruling group-backed councillor Prakash Bhivshet who was keeping the ruling side on the edge and rejecting most of the resolutions proposed in the council. Of course, backed with facts and sound reasoning, exhibiting his experience compared to the newbies in the ruling group.
In fact, Bhivshet has been pointing to several lacunae in the conduct of council meetings on several occasions in the past, carrying out the job of constructive opposition to the tee. When you have an in-house guy who can do the job, then why do you need the opposition?
Mapusa chairperson’s ‘get out’ in bad taste
It was very unlike Priya Madam on super Wednesday. Something snapped and an otherwise genial personality that she is, Mishal lost her cool and shouted, nay yelled at her colleague and ordered him to “get out” midway in the council meeting.
So what was it that got the Mapusa chairperson’s goat? Was it the interview the councillor gave to a YouTube news channel the previous day? Or the piece of news article in a local vernacular daily where the councillor made some uncharitable remarks against her? Or was she instructed by the 'high command' to go after the opposition?
Whatever the reasons, the chairperson’s behaviour and the remarks were uncharacteristic and unpardonable. The role of the chairperson is to carry forward an established etiquette of taking all members along and bring about a consensus over a set agenda and if there is no consensus to take a vote where the majority wins.
Nothing of this sort happened. As usual, there was a lot of chatter and at one stage when councillor Shashank Narvekar tried to make a point, Priya madame got annoyed and bluntly told him to get out, not once but twice, possibly thrice. This incident has plunged the council politics in Mapusa to yet another low with the chairperson's uncouth conduct. In one stroke, it has tarnished the council's image and no amount of apologies can erase the black spot.
