Wednesday 17 June 2020

‘Patkis’ are forgiven not ‘ghatkis’ -- By Nisser Dias


On 14th June 2020, Goa Forward party supremo Vijay Sardessai on his 50th birthday, apologized to the Goans and said it was his political mistake to support the BJP government after the demise of chief minister late Manohar Parrikar.
Undoubtedly, Sardessai is trying to pull wool over the eyes of his constituents and Goans at large. He very well knows that the political ground under his feet is shaky and hence the tricks.

It is not that Sardessai did not carve out lion’s share from the Pramod Sawant government. He surely did. After retaining plum and lucrative portfolios allotted by the Parrikar dispensation, he forced the chief minister Sawant to swear him as his deputy. And obviously, the Dy. CM tag will be under his name lifelong.
So this pretentious apologizing or asking for mercy for so called political mistake is a complete hogwash.
When Pramod Sawant was sworn-in as CM, he was seen as a soft target as compared to the arrogant, despotic Parrikar. But the former proved otherwise for ambitious politicians, who are now spewing venom.
Question that arises is why would any chief minister drop his cabinet colleagues like hot potatoes. To my mind there are only two reasons. Firstly the ministers could be grossly inefficient. Second reason could be that the ministers had become too big for their boots and the CM was losing control over his cabinet. The second option to my mind is more relevant as it was rumoured that GFP was getting out of hand and running parallel governance. Given Vijay’s mindset I personally do not rule it out.
If at all Fatorda MLA has to apologize, he has address it on a public stage and not from the top of his ‘Goemkar Ghor’. He has to ask pardon from those credible citizens who believed in him and went out of their way to convince other voters to cast their franchise for Vijay. He has to apologize to those who stood by him when he criticized Parrikar and BJP from public stage.
And he has to ask forgiveness from voters who wanted a change in Goa from the communal rule of the BJP and reduced the numbers of the BJP in 2017 assembly elections and opened an opportunity for other parties to form a government.

It is Vijay Sardessai, through backdoor manipulations and self benefitting politics extended his support to the BJP and brought the communal party back to power. To rub salt to the wounds he facilitated the return of autocratic and dictatorial Manohar Parrikar to Goa as CM.
Not only from the top of his new building, he could shout from the tallest peak in Goa, Goans will never forgive him for back-stabbing them. Voters of Fatorda were not very happy with his performance early also and that can be gauged from the slender winning margin of 1300-1500 voters he had over his closest rival.
His voters and Goans at large have seen through the working and tidings of the Goa Forward party president and now they not only wiser but are better informed who they want as their representative in the assembly at the next hustings.
At the gathering on his birthday to mark 50 years, Fatorda MLA said, his party won’t aid the establishment of such a government in Goa in the future. For his party, BJP was finished after the death of Parrikar. He said, we will never let BJP rule the state in future.
This man is a chameleon; these are utter lies because GFP continues to be part of the NDA government and the question why?
Sardessai claims that incumbent chief minister does not have a Goan heart. Basically he wants to say that the Sawant is not a Goan, but it did not bother him when he was being made the deputy CM. Did Vijay Sardessai sell his ‘Goem, Goemkar and Goemkarponn’ to ghattar at that point?
There are lot of fingers pointing at Pramod Sawant for having bought land in Goa being a non- Goan. At the same time as many fingers are pointing towards Vijay Sardessai for having sold Goa’s land to outsiders. Hence there is not much of a difference between a Goan like Vijay and non-Goan like Pramod Sawant.
Ironically Sardessai still praises and worships the worst chief ministero of Goa late Manohar Parrikar who did not allow any Goan to rise to take over the reins of Goa after him, but allowed a non-Goan to the CM of Goa for the first time in the history of Goa. And that is the reason that the non-Goan CM is building Parrikar’s memorial violating all CRZ norms.
Vijay Sardessai the trickster that he is, is keeping his option open. In case chief minister Pramod Sawant is replaced by his party for inefficiency and maladministration, he will have no qualms of jumping on to the BJP bandwagon.
Health minister Vishwajeet Rane visiting Fatorda to greet Sardessai on his birthday gives credence that there is likely to be an overhauling in the BJP and the junior Rane who recently crossed swords with Sardessai is pulling strings to present his strength for the top post.
The former Dy. CM of Goa who was dropped unceremoniously in July 2019 rightly admitted that Goans are suffering because of his mistake. And that he and his party men are ready to seek penance. Penance he has too voluntarily, otherwise his voters will make him do it.
On 18th June 2020, Goa’s Revolution Day, let us resolve to take Goa ahead without Goa Forward.