Oppn vows to corner govt on Birch tragedy, land issues
PANAJI/MAPUSA
The five‑day winter session of the Goa Legislative Assembly kicks off on Monday at 11.30 am, with Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju delivering the maiden address to the House.
The session, scheduled to conclude on Friday, January 16, will feature five sittings, combining government business with pointed political exchanges and private member’s business on Friday.
From Tuesday onwards, the House is slated to take up supplementary demands for grants, government bills, and discussions on pressing issues.
The final day has been earmarked for five Private Members’ Resolutions, giving legislators an opportunity to raise matters outside the government’s agenda.
However, the session is already marked by tension. Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar has disallowed special discussions on several “burning issues,” prompting the joint Opposition to vow an aggressive strategy during Question Hour and other procedural avenues. Despite being numerically small, the Opposition has signalled its intent to corner the government on governance failures, corruption, and policy lapses.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said the Opposition had held detailed consultations to ensure accountability. “We have discussed and worked out our strategy, and it will be delivered on the floor of the House. They will be cornered on all four days,” Alemao, the Congress MLA from Cuncolim, asserted.
Among the issues expected to dominate proceedings are the tragic Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire, coal pollution, unemployment, irregularities in the Town and Country Planning department, and concerns over the health sector. Alemao emphasised that these matters would be repeatedly raised through parliamentary tools to keep public welfare at the forefront.
AAP MLA Venzy Viegas echoed the sentiment, stressing that the Opposition would act as a united force despite ideological differences.
“We are going to work as a united Opposition in the Assembly despite our differences on the political front,” he said, adding that the government’s frequent missteps provided ample material for scrutiny.
Viegas also referred to observations made by former Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Ferdino Rebello, who recently outlined systemic governance failures in Goa. He noted that issues such as administrative breakdown, policy paralysis, corruption, job scams, lack of employment opportunities, and poor budget utilization — with only about 45 per cent of funds reportedly spent — would inevitably surface during the session.
With formal debates curtailed, Question Hour is expected to become the principal battleground, as Opposition members seek to expose shortcomings and hold the government accountable. The ruling benches, meanwhile, are likely to emphasize legislative progress and policy initiatives.
As the Assembly moves through its agenda, the winter session promises not only routine legislative business but also heightened confrontation, setting the stage for a politically charged start to the year.
