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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF 'MAHARAJA' MONSERRATE Team GT [Gomantak Times, Sept 1, 2004] PANAJI: To his followers and beneficiaries Babush is king with a heart. To his opponents he is a Robin Hood who is no good. Love him, hate him or raid him, it's difficult to ignore Atanasio Monserrate. If there is one Cabinet minister who knows how to lead a life of luxury, it is Babush Monserrate. The Maharaja loves his cars. And his car numbers. Almost all his cars in his fleet have the same registration number 2141, the number of votes by which he won his last election. The cars are all lined up at his Taleigao bungalow -- Casa Monserrate. He wears the finest clothes, goes on foreign holidays and dines at five-star hotels. However, he is hardly defensive about his lifestyle. He once told GT: "If I have the moeny, why shouldn't I spend?" Sources at the Goa Marriott confirmed that Monserrate is a regular at its F&B outlets and has often been spotted dining with associates at its restaurants or visiting its coffee shop. However, his associates say he refrains from consuming eatables outside his home out of fear. People close to Monseratte talk about a Jekyll and Hyde personality who, on the one hand, rides rough shod over whoever crosses his path and on the other cuts a dimunitive figure, who speaks with quiet authority. Zipping around in a Suzuki sports utility vehicle, Monseratte almost always drives himself around town. He is also known to have helped members of his constituency who were in dire need. A Taleigao family in need of a large amount of cash for treatment of a family member received Rs 25,000 from Monseratte. One constant refrain of his closest supporters is, "Babush is there." Monserrate's entry into politics is said to have been by sheer accident rather than any design and arising from a challenge thrown to his former friend, Somnath Zuwarkar, a former Congress MLA. Babush has carved out his bastion through his generous donations, and the work he has managed to do in his constituency. A few of the roads were laid in a record time. Construction of one of the roads ended in a dispute and a court case, apparently due to his excessive zeal in carrying out the work. He is learnt to have solved the problem of acute warter shortage and a long-pending one in a colony where government officers were staying, which gave a glimpse of his style of functioning to get the work done. On a recent campaign visit to Poinguinim he is reported to have donated Rs 50,000 each to three temple committees ona single day. Taleigao residents claim that Babush distributed a truckload of motorcycles to his closest supporters and held lavish public parties after winning the Assembly elections, defeating friend-turned-foe Somnath Zuwarkar. His generosity apparently played an important role in his victory. Monseratte reportedly earned his wealth from the sale of vast areas of land to the government for the construction of the Goa University at the Taleigao plateau. He further built up his wealth by getting involved in lending money to builders during the real estate boom. His work as a moneylender was responsible for most of his brushes with the law. A number of builders have filed cases against him, alleging extortion and threats. Much of Monserrate's income has accrued from the sale of his landed properties, a fact he has himself acknowledged. His subsequent earnings have been on lending money, allegedly at high rates of interest. Monseratte also entered into a dispute with the owners of Cidade de Goa over public access to Vainguinim beach. In the last quarter of 2003, he personally led a team of government workers that demolished a gate built by the Cidade de Goa and built a public access road in a matter of hours. A Mapusa-based businessman has registered a criminal complaint against Monseratte, alleging extortion. He was charge-sheeted in the case, but the witnesses turned hostile after Monseratte became a minister. Monseratte and his family recently courted controversy during a vacation to South Africa earlier this year, when an airline official denied them access to the flight on the grounds that their passports were tampered with. A close associate told GT: "When Babush likes you, he will do anything for you. But if he dislikes you, he will tell it to you on your face." Ironically, for Babush, today's (Aug 31, 2004)) raids told him on his face that the law catches up. And so do political opponents like the Congress. ENDS ########################################################################## Goa's premier mailing list Goanet - http://www.goanet.org is 10 years old today