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Parrikar: Hoisted with his own petard
By Mario Cabral e Sa
The Navhind Times
August 19, 2007
Manohar Parrikar's last month's polygamous honeymoon at
Babush Monserrate's 'Raj Hotel', with Babush, Churchill
Alemao and Victoria Fernandes, has ended up in disaster for
him. Parrikar was then playing the self-bestowed role of the
saviour of Goa. The Congress-led coalition, he said in an
exculpatory statement to the media, was collapsing 'under its
own weight'. It was his party's 'duty' to offer an
alternative government.
Perhaps yes, the Congress-led alliance was tottering, the two
MGP allies who had their own agenda, pretended they were
disappointed with Digambar Kamat's 'slow pace'; the lone
woman MLA Victoria Fernandes who demanded 'rightful'
representation for her sex in the Goa cabinet was peeved at
being scorned and was determined to avenge the "insult to all
women of Goa". Anil Salgao car, one of the two Independent
MLAs, was 'disappointed' with the government's performance.
Possibly, there was much more 'purdah ke piche'.
Reduced to simple arithmetic, the Congress-led alliance which
had 16 MLAs of its own plus 3 of its pre-poll ally NCP plus 2
post-result MGP supporters plus 2 Independents was
effectively reduced to 15 plus 3 plus 1, considering that the
flag-carrier of woman power, Victoria Fernandes, had
submitted her resignation and repeatedly told the media that
she was to be addressed as 'the ex-MLA of Santa Cruz'.
Parrikar justified his union with strange bed-fellows, two of
whom (Churchill and Babush) he had described as untouchable
(perhaps not in as many words) despite his open 'tactical'
understanding with Churchill (who, he said on the occasion,
BJP had backed only to defeat its maha-shatru Luizinho
Faleiro) and covertly with Babush (whose victory was made
easier by disbanding its Taleigao block on the eve of the
election).
Less than a month after Parrikar set up the political bomb,
which would blow up Digambar Kamat and his government, we
find Parrikar hoist with his own petard, badly bruised and
muddied.
But good news for poultry farmers: eggs are in great demand.
Margaret Alva had said, "Babush is a traitor", and how has
egg on her face. In the name of political sanity, Ravi Naik's
post-poll proposal to take in Churchill Alemao's Save Goa
Front (and shore-up his claim to CM-ship) was ticked off as
unprincipled by the high command, and instead, the MGP's
Dhavalikar brothers were brought in. Two birds were killed
with that option: Ravi Naik's plans to dethrone Pratapsing
Rane, and Churchill Alemao's intention of occupying the chair
of his one-time leader, Dr Wilfred de Souza, the decorative
position of deputy chief minister. More egg on more faces.
Odd football acquaintances are never forgotten, and Priya
Ranjan Dashmunshi who was away in Djkarta was urgently
summoned by the Congress high command to help resolve the Goa
crisis. He had advocated Churchill's cause before and was to
come to Goa, but in the end stayed back. What followed
stunned Parrikar, and probably, revolted Luizinho Faleiro and
Francisco Sardinha.
But this rescue act of the Congress means, to the delight of
poultry farmers, more egg on many more politicians faces,
these from Delhi. And there will be many more citizens with
egg on their face -- the Catholic clergy taking the primacy
for the disgraceful way they mislead their flock in
Christian-dominated pockets, and unbottled the evil genii now
playing hell with our lives.
Who in the end won or who lost, is too early to tell. In the
long run, the BJP and MGP coming and remaining together with
accentuate the communal divide. However, one certainty is
that Digambar Kamat will now face new constraints and will be
coerced by circumstances into unpleasant compromises.
