The political scenario in Goa is not same as the rest of India. People of Goa are more simple and adaptable to the circumstances. They do not like the change as compared to the people of other states in India. Before BJP became the strong political power in the state, Congress used to rule, and similarly, MGP was an indisputable ruling party during the tenure of Shri. Dayanand Bandodkar, who became Goa’s first Chief Minister after the liberation of Goa from Portuguese Rule. This trend shows that people of Goa do not like to get adapted to change very easily, and now Goa without Parrikar has come to standstill politically and socially. What will be the consequences of this? How long will this situation exist without the strong leadership?
Perhaps Congress was the last political party in the state that ruled Goa without any coalition for a long time with Mr. Pratapsingh Rane being at the helm of it. But after his stepping down from the chief minister’s position there were no leaders who could steer the political vehicle of Congress for long, and it went into the hands of the coalition government. At this juncture, Mr. Parrikar emerged as an undisputed leader of the new generation with new ideas and the willpower to change the political scenario in the state, and the rest is history.
Mr. Parrikar successfully ruled Goa for almost two decades regardless of the fact that every time it was with the help of coalition partners, and making it sure that he holds the ultimate powers.
Mr. Parrikar successfully ruled Goa for almost two decades regardless of the fact that every time it was with the help of coalition partners and making it sure that he holds the ultimate powers. Due to this the party could not nurture leadership amongst the newcomers nor managed to develop another leader and as a result is when Mr. Parrikar left the state for the treatment of his ailment in the USA, the whole government came on the verge of collapse.
What happened to Mr. Parrikar was unpredictable but, that how the life is all about. Presently Goa without Parrikar has become the Goa without vision, direction and the leadership. According to the article published in The Economic Times, Less than a week after Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, suffering from pancreatic cancer, was rushed to the US for treatment, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government already appears to be shaky and dissent-ridden, and it is about to collapse.
What happened to Mr. Parrikar was unpredictable but, that how the life is all about. Presently Goa without Parrikar has become the Goa without vision, direction and the leadership.
In the absence of Mr. Parrikar, some of the senior BJP MLAs had started questioning the stability of the coalition government since there are many issued which needed to be addressed at the moment and one of the most critical amongst them is the sudden closure of mining. The Curchorem MLA who represents the bigger chunk of mining dependents in the state is very upset about the way things are taking place in the state.
According to Mr. Nilesh Cabral, The Curchorem MLA, there is practically no functioning government in the state at the moment. “Today, we have practically no government. With due respect to the Chief Minister it is very clear there is no governance happening,” Cabral said. “The CM is not here to take cabinet (meetings) and he has given some powers to the three. Who will chair the meeting? This has become confusing. I do not find any solution in this,” Cabral added.
The most interesting fact here is, despite the 14 MLA of BJP and rest of the coalition partners in the fray, Parrikar is considered as One Man Show. The article published in the Scroll has addressed Mr. Parrikar as One Man Show in the Goan politics with holding whooping 20 portfolios including the major ones such as home, finance, personnel, general administration, and mining and despite being aware that he will be out of the state for more than six weeks, he did not entrust the job to any of his cabinet colleagues and instead delegated the same to his principal secretary and the chief secretary. Mr. Parrikar controls the administration through bureaucracy with the help of Video Conferencing.
Before leaving to the USA for the treatment of his ailment, he had set up the committee of three members which includes the leaders of three party, Francis D’Souza of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Vijai Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party. A memo constituting the committee was issued by him before leaving the state. The said committee is solely an advisory body, with its final decisions to be vetted by the chief minister.
Mr. Parrikar as One Man Show in the Goan politics with holding whooping 20 portfolios including the major ones such as home, finance, personnel, general administration and mining
According to the Congress which is the only opposition party at the moment in the 40 member Goa assembly with 16 MLAs on their side, had claimed that this arrangement is unconstitutional and the same has no provision in business rules for the state. Political analysts, however, are of the opinion that the move, though unprecedented, is merely a cosmetic gesture aimed at temporarily placating the ruling coalition’s feuding partners, while holding out merger options to both allies. The BJP, currently facing an acute leadership crisis in the state, with Parrikar’s illness looming large, needs to strengthen its numbers and cement its position.
In the view of the above, it is now very clear that the fate of the Goan politics remains in the darkness until the strong leadership is manifested by one of the senior leaders existing in the party, or else the only option remains at the moment is re-election which will be futile and costly, as there is no other party in the state which will display the leadership qualities that Mr. Parrikar has. What is your opinion on this story? Please share your comments and suggestions in the comment box below…
