People from the far and wide corners of Goa travel all the way to my office
in Ribandar hoping that I will be of assistance to their complicated and
complex woes. As far as possible I try to do everything possible but its
physically impossible for me to single handedly pursue every issue.
This sordid ordeal of a parent from Assolna is heart breaking and I have
chosen to share with you all these very disturbing facts which only
reiterates that Corruption in Goa is now deep rooted and virtually
institutionalized with not even centers of learning being spared.
With his only son having failed by just one mark in the 12th Std Maths exam
conducted by the Goa Board of Secondary & High Secondary Education, the
parent was exploring a way out to seek re-valuation of the answer sheets of
his son who incidentally is a Child with Special needs.
A friend of that Assolna parent suggested that he meet Perves Gomes, Goa’s
Deputy Director of Accounts who would find a way out. So with a ray of hope
the parent on 11th July went and met Perves Gomes in his chamber at the
Directorate of Accounts in Panaji. The parent was stunned on being told by
Perves Gomes that it would cost him two lakhs for his son to be declared
passed by the Goa Board. Pervis Gomes told the parent to meet one Makarand
Pandit and that he would get the job done. Makarand Pandit reportedly runs
a partnership business at Margao with Perves Gomes and also supplies
stationery to the Goa Board.
Accordingly the parent contacted Makarand Pandit and next day met him
outside the Goa Board at Porvorim where Agnelo Monteiro a staff of the Goa
Board was also present. After some hectic negotiation Makarand Pandit and
Agnelo Monteiro agreed to get the marks changed on payment of 1.5 lakh
instead of the initial 2 lakhs quoted by Perves Gomes. When asked by the
parent as to why the bribe money being demanded was so huge, he was told
that the amount had to be shared between the entire top hierarchy at the
Goa Board, The parent told Makarand Pandit and Agnelo Monteiro that once he
was able to arrange the 1.5 lakhs he would revert back to them.
The distressed parent went and met the Chairman of the Goa Board J.R
Rebello and narrated to him the entire sequence of events and conversations
he had with Perves Gomes, Makarand Pandit and Agnelo Monteiro. Chairman
Rebello heard the parent but gave him a very cold shoulder.
The very same day the parent went to Mandrem and met former Chief Minister
Laxmikant Parsekar who he knows. After hearing the facts and gravity of
the bribery issue he was advised to wait till Chief Minister Manohar
Parrikar returned from his foreign tour. On 14th July morning, the very
day Manohar Parrikar arrived back from the United States, Laxmikant
Parsekar briefed Manohar Parrikar on the issue and the parent had a meeting
with Manohar Parrikar explaining to him the demand of bribe episode in
detail. To the parent’s utter disgust Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar
instead of directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption to swing into
action, asked the parent whether he wanted his son to pass the 12th std
exam or the officers punished for demanding that bribe.
Promising action Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the parent that his
OSD Upendra Joshi would soon revert back to him. Over the last two weeks
the agonized parent has been repeatedly visiting the Chief Minister’s
office and with no action forthcoming has now realized that the
Government’s slogan of Zero Tolerance to Corruption is infact only on paper
while the ground reality is that there is absolutely no action against the
Corrupt. With the parent having voice recorded and video footage of his
conversations with Perves Gomes, Makarand Pandit and Agnelo Monteiro, heads
should have rolled, but Manohar Parrikar as expected has been shielding the
corrupt and their black deeds.
After having failed to pay up the bribe demanded, as expected the parent
has been now intimated that on revaluation of the answer sheet, his son
continues as failed by that one mark. Having reconciled to that reality,
the now much traumatized parent only hopes that by exposing his case to the
rest of the student community, at least the Temples of learning will be
spared from this Cancer of Corruption.
Aires Rodrigues
Advocate High Court
C/G-2, Shopping Complex
Ribandar Retreat,
Ribandar – Goa – 403006
Mobile No: 9822684372
Office Tel No: (0832) 2444012
Email: airesrodrigu...@gmail.com
Or
airesrodrig...@yahoo.com
You can also reach me on
Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues
Twitter@rodrigues_aires
www.airesrodrigues.com
