MAPUSA
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday disclosed all old records of the Goa Legislative Assembly were destroyed while shifting from the old Assembly to the new complex and requested the Speaker, Ramesh Tawadar to make efforts to digitise all the records of the State Assembly.
Sawant said that when he first became the Speaker he felt the need to digitise all records of the Assembly and had also initiated a move in that direction.
He said today it is impossible to listen to the speeches of Goa’s first CM, Dayanand Bandodkar or ex-MLA Kashinath Zalmi who was one of the best legislators as those records have not been preserved or destroyed.
“My request to the Speaker that at least the present records should be digitalised so that future MLAs can get to listen to the speeches for learning,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister was addressing a gathering of MLAs during the training session for first-time legislators in a starred resort in Panaji. Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly Ramesh Tawadkar and Secretary of Goa Legislature Namrata Ulman were also present.
Sawant said that old records including speeches should be preserved so that future young MLAs could use it as a reference point.
He said unfortunately all old records of the Goa Legislative Assembly were destroyed when the Assembly was being shifted from the Adil Shah’s Palace, the old Assembly in Panaji to the new assembly complex at Porvorim.
“It should have been there but very sorry to say that no records were found. Who did this and why I don’t know,” he said.
“But now from 2000 onwards we have started to maintain all records. I also initiated the move to digitalise the records but couldn’t make headway,” he added.
He further said that Goa Assembly has a long and interesting history from 1963 till date which can teach a lot.
“There are pioneers…Governments were made and brought down in the matter of days…Their references are being used by other assemblies. Therefore their documentation is required,” he said.
The Chief Minister also informed that he has decided to organise a study tour for the MLAs in States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to understand rural development.
“Assembly is the best platform for MLAs to perform and show how effective he is. There has to be constructive opposition for good government to function,” he said.
