Ah, Goa. Land of beaches, feni, and a political theatre so rich, it makes Bollywood look like an amateur class. On June 22, 2025, the state witnessed yet another blockbuster performance; this time starring ex-Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude, who decided to end his speech not with a mic drop, but with a partly ‘surya namaskar’.
Yes, you read that right. Gaude, freshly ousted from his ministerial chair, went full "Shashtang Dandavat", prostrating on stage with folded hands, hoping the gods of electoral mercy (read: voters) would bless him with a second chance. A performance worthy of a lifetime achievement award in political melodrama.
Of course, he’s not alone in this cringe-worthy quest for public sympathy. Let’s rewind to June 14, 2020, when Goa Forward Party supremo and Fatorda MLA Vijay Sardessai, on his 50th birthday, begged Goans to forgive him for his "political mistake" to support the BJP post-Parrikar. Conveniently, this realization came right after he was dropped as Deputy CM. Timing, as they say, is everything.
And speaking of crocodile tears, let’s not forget our arrogant Vishwajit Rane. The Health Minister, who once begged late CM Manohar Parrikar to accept him into the BJP fold, has become Goa’s poster child for performative penitence. A classic case of “cry when you’re down, roar when you’re up.”
But behind every apology is a history lesson we’d do well to remember. Take Rane, who just this month lashed out at Dr. Rudresh Kuttikar, the Chief Medical Officer at Goa Medical College, proving yet again that arrogance doesn’t retire, it just recalibrates based on power.
Let’s not be fooled, this isn’t character development. It’s a re-run.
Back in 2019, Vijay Sardessai, then Deputy CM, slapped a phone out of a civic officer’s hand. When public pressure reached a boiling point, he switched gears from ‘Hulk’ mode to humble servant, issuing an apology like a kid caught cheating during finals. He’s also lashed out at journalists because asking questions is apparently a cardinal sin in his kingdom.
And remember the time Sardessai, as TCP Minister, lined up bouncers in the Town and Country Planning office like it was a nightclub in Baga?
Govind Gaude, too, showed us what "cultural leadership" really means, by hurling abuse at the director of the Tribal Affairs department for allowing an NGO to hold a camp to educate lower section of the society of government schemes and their rights. Lashing out at journalists, activists, and even artists who dared question his Kala Academy renovation project, which, by the way, had more red flags than a Communist rally had become a norm for him.
But here's the kicker: once the chair gets pulled from under them, these very same men suddenly discover the spiritual power of humility. They apologize. They cry. They literally lie on the floor. Not because they’ve changed, but because they want your vote.
So let’s call it what it is: a seasonal shedding of arrogance disguised as repentance. When in power, they strut. When out of power, they crawl.
Goa doesn’t need more dramatics. It needs accountability, memory, and voters with long attention spans. Because if we keep rewarding bad actors (read: politicians) with encore performances, they’ll keep rewriting the script to suit their egos, not our futures.
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