As expected the swearing in ceremony of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant ended up being a BJP show, indeed a very cheap one. The very shouting of slogans inside the venue marred and breached the solemnity of the function presided by Goa Governor as custodian of constitutional propriety in the State. As per protocol only the Governor, the Chief Minister designate and the Chief Secretary should have been on the dais. But what we witnessed was the entire BJP galaxy centre stage, transforming the event into a party-political gathering. In point of fact all the rest including the Prime Minister should have been seated in the audience.
It was unfortunate that our High Court Chief Justice who is in Goa this week chose to attend what was nothing short of a BJP mela along with his fellow judges after the Court timings were submissively altered -- something unprecedented, since judges must keep a safe distance and never ever have to bow to the political class. Incidentally, the government should never have a role in the appointment of High Court judges and their elevation to the Supreme Court. All this compromises the very independence of our judiciary. Our last hope is the judiciary but with the government wanting to overpower the judiciary too, there is a very disturbing disquiet over the slippery slope on which judicial values are slithering. Sorrowing lie the scales of justice!
