If there's one Goan politician who has been dominating space in mainstream media as well as cyberspace for a prolonged stretch of time, it's none other than former chief minister Digambar Kamat.
Known to wear his adherence to Hindu religious rites on his sleeve, the Margao veteran was at the receiving end of criticism for defecting and trampling the much publicised 'oath' he took and administered to all other Congress candidates prior to the Assembly elections in February this year.
His explanation that he "spoke to God again.......he said go ahead, I am with you" didn't quite make the cut and hardly had that fire doused, the Ordinance to do away with voting by "secret ballot" in elections for positions in all local self-government bodies, again brought him to centre stage.
Many a political pundits are seeing it as a measure of the "political importance' of Digambar Kamat. Just a fortnight in the saffron camp, they say, and the former chief minister has got the entire cabinet to clear by circulation the ordinance in a jiffy.
Kamat didn't want to take chances after the earlier fiasco when councillors of the Margao Municipal Council cross-voted and defeated his candidate for the chairperson's post, and therefore the ordinance to pave the way for voting by 'show of hands'.
Quite a spectacular return to the crease in the BJP batting line-up after having declared himself 'retired hurt' from the Congress batting order!
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Michael back to doing
what he does best
After re-joining the BJP, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo is back to his old self -- making news and trying to grab headlines.
A couple of days ago he walked into the Anjuna police station to question the men-in-uniform on the progress of the investigation in the stabbing incident that took place in his backyard. He also gave his two pence of advice of how policing should be done and how the cops should fulfil their duties. He also did not mince words to target his once upon a time favourite police officer asking the cop to not just wear the name of Singham on his sleeve but to act like one.
Some days ago he was seen in the royal company of Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai who was on a visit to Calangute constituency and neighbouring Siolim which is represented by his dear wife Delilah. A former minister, Lobo was the cynosure of all eyes during the gubernatorial visit.
Did someone say power intoxicates and absolute power intoxicates absolutely?
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Mapusa civic politics
gets spicy
With Mapusa Chairperson, Shubhangi Vaigankar remaining adamant and refusing to letgo the chair, Mapusa MLA, Joshua D’Souza is probably learning it the hard way of how to deal with an evolving political situation.
By now he has used all the tricks in the book to convince the chairperson to step down graciously and ensure that politics does not affect the civic work in town. As the due date for the municipality staff strike is fast approaching (October 10), the young MLA must be getting restless, caught in the proverbial Catch 22 situation.
How can a BJP-run council bring a no-trust motion against one of its own? His last hope rests on what the CM does. But will the good doctor pick up the phone and dial the chairperson? Well, the game is on.
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Colourful Malik goes home
Remember Satyapal Malik, the former inhabitant of the Cabo Raj Bhavan? Who wouldn't after his colourful gubernatorial stints in Goa, Jammu & Kashmir and eventually Meghalaya. Well, he is Governor no more and has retired to his native village of Bhagpat in Uttar Pradesh. There was speculation he would dabble in mainstream politics after the many pro-farmer and anti-Modi statements he had made while in office. But the former Lohiaite has ruled it out. Instead, he has now announced he would be taking a mentoring role to the Opposition of Uttar Pradesh comprising Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chaudhury.
Despite Malik's many maverick acts while governor of J&K before and during the abrogation of Article 370, including the infamous 'fax machine not working' slip between the cup and the lip which led to dissolution of the House there, there will two other reasons he will be best remembered for, here in Goa.
Malik forcefully rejected the new Raj Bhavan project leaving Chief Minister Pramod Sawant no option but to back off, and secondly, when transferred to Meghalaya he went on a tirade alleging corruption in "everything the Goa government did (during the COVID-19 pandemic)."
Clearly, no one has called the spade a spade, the way Malik did, despite the many curbs the office of the Governor entails.
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Tony: lost but not forgotten
When the displaced kiosk owners/vendors around the GMC were allotted letters for shops at the rehabilitation project, the person who toiled hard on behalf of the displaced person was missing at the function -- former MLA Tony Fernandes.
This not only left the affected kiosk owners/vendors disheartened but even the media persons, who were reporting on the issue on a regular basis, were left to wonder over the absence of the former MLA.
However, the displaced kiosk owners/vendors ensured that the efforts of Fernandes did not go unnoticed as they invited him on Dussehra day, when they formally took possession of the shops.
At the function, the kiosk owners/vendors heaped praises on Fernandes for standing by them during their desperate times while asserting that it was his efforts which gave them justice.
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Rules only when convenient?
The farmers of Sanguem wanted that their voices be heard against the setting up of the IIT campus in Sanguem and they embarked on a journey by bus to the capital city so that they could address a media conference at the iconic Azad Maidan.
The timing of the conference was initially fixed at 3.30 pm. However, on the way, the bus was stopped by the police and the protestors were held up for more than an hour, due to which the conference was delayed.
When reporters made inquiries over the hold up, the farmers who were traveling by a route bus informed that they were held up by the police as a route bus could not be used for any other purpose.
The act of the men-in-uniform threw up many unanswered questions as to how route buses are otherwise used for transporting people to political gatherings, weddings, picnics, etc.
In other ways, the episode is a classic example of rules being used or misused to suit one's needs.
(Compiled by Ashley do Rosairo with inputs from Agnelo Pereira and Manuel Vaz)
