Churchill Alemao - the 'Jumping Jack' of Goan politics. - By Nisser Dias

Churchill Alemao

Benaulim constituency MLA Churchill Alemao’s common diatribe has been that political parties does not matter to him as he has always been people’s candidate.

How since his plunge into politics in the late 80’s he has changed parties like he changes his underwears.

Churchill Alemao’s tryst in politics started with his election victory as the Congress candidate in 1989. Few months later on 27^th March 1990 he split the Congress to form the Progressive Democratic Front government in coalition with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

During this PDF-MGP coalition government, with MGP’s late Sasikala Kakodkar as education minister the medium of instruction was changed from English to mother tongue.

During this period Churchill created history by becoming the first Catholic Chief Minister of Goa, albeit for only 19 days as he resigned to pave way for Dr. Luis Proto Barbosa. PDF government collapsed in December that year.

With NCP

In 1994 elections Churchill Alemao was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the UGDP candidate and remained an MLA till 1996 when he contested parliamentary election and defeated Congress candidate to the Lok Sabha Eduardo Faleiro.

At the bye-elections held in 1996, he introduced his brother Joaquim Alemao in politics and won the Benaulim constituency as the UGDP candidate.

After a gap of 10 years during 1999 elections, Churchill Alemao in an act of ‘ghar whapsi’ returned to the Congress fold and won from Benaulim constituency and was rewarded with the Industries and Tourism ministries.

Francisco Xavier alias Micky Pacheco the UGDP candidate defeated Churchill Alemao in 2002 thereby ending his reign in Benaulim constituency.

Thereafter the Congress party again rehabilitated Churchill Alemao by nominating him to Lok Sabha however when 2007 assembly elections were announced he trained his guns at his party and termed Congress as communal and corrupt.

He resigned from the Congress party and set up his own outfit known as Save Goa Front and was victorious after defeating Luizinho Faleiro.

He  attempted to topple the Digambar Kamat led government in 2007. Though his coup failed, Churchill Alemao managed to get his pound of flesh by merging his fledgling outfit into Congress and get a prime ministrial berth as PWD minister.

In 2012, as Congress candidate Churchill was usurped by independent candidate Avertano Furtado in the Navelim constituency.

With TMC

Churchill once again left the Congress and contested Parliamentary polls in 2014 on Trinamool Congress ticket and was again defeated.

In 2016 Churchill’s began his political escapade with the Nationalist Congress Party and won the Benaulim constituency in 2017 Assembly election. 

He was the lone NCP MLA in the Assembly and extended support to BJP government throughout the tenure but wanted alliance with Congress to fight elections, as the Congress party rejected his offer, he joined Trinamool Congress party to fight the 2022 Assembly election.

 

Prashant Kishor’s ‘Original Sin’ – By Nisser Dias

Goa is going to polls in 2022; Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) has taken a plunge into this political carnival. As a political outfit they have all the right under the Indian Constitution to broaden or widen their spectre.

Secondly they are riding high on a wave of convincingly defeating the BJP in West Bengal twice. Once during the general elections and second during the by-election of chief minister Mamta Banerjee.

But with TMC comes a different package or baggage whatever one may call it. And it is India Political Action Committee. In short I-PAC founded by Prashant Kishor.

Kishor informed the world he would quit the group but I-PAC would remain after the victory of TMC in Kolkata is one facet. That he convinced Luizinho Faleiro into joining Didi’s party is another aspect which has to be viewed from the political prism.

In the Christian doctrine, the community believes in a conjecture called ‘Original Sin’.

It is the condition or state of sin into which each human being is born. In common parley it has been ascribed to the sin of the first man, Adam, who disobeyed God in eating the forbidden fruit (of knowledge of good and evil) and consequently transmitted his sin to his descendants.

This doctrine has its basis in the Bible. Similarly is the case of Prashant Kishor and his CAG (Citizens for Accountable Governance).

CAG’s original sin was facilitating or pole-vaulting Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of this country. After Kishor fell out with prime minister, he disbanded or rather re-christened CAG to I-PAC.

What followed subsequently is suffering and death of common man, increasing communal divide, nose diving economic graph, sky rocketing of fuel prices and wholesale self glorification cult to make Modi larger than life.

In short Kishor created a monster. Now he is trying to wipe his slate clean of his original sin. Hopefully in this quest he will not create more monsters. We have already experienced Luizinho Faleiro’s ‘Salazar rule’ in Goa as chief minister and would not like to be his subjects again.

Corporate manufactured mandates fabricated with lies, smear and slander are not healthy for democracy as the citizens’ start believing fallacy as truth since they are told with a straight face.

One such lie manufactured during Modi’s campaign in 2013 was bringing in all the black money stashed away in foreign countries and depositing Rs. 15 lakhs in each and every citizen’s account. Like fools we are stilling awaiting it to happen.

I-PAC by default is part of these lies too as it was strategizing BJP’s campaign.

Mamta Banerjee may have the grit, guts and determination to take on the duo at the Centre. But it will not happen with the career politicians in Goa and especially those roped in by TMC through I-PAC.

Goan career politicians have a lot of skeletons in their closet which will surely spill out if they even try to squeal against Prime Minister Modi and Home minister Amit Shah.

TMC ‘Man Friday’ Luizinho Faleiro could not even take-on BJP government in Goa as he did not want to upset his applecart, hence cannot be expected even to take digs at the powerful duo at the Centre. At the most his strategy will be to only take pot-shots at the BJP as a party.

Besides Goa, six other states are going to polls in 2022, UP, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and later in the year Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Why is TMC and I-PAC not strategizing contests in other states, why only Goa is a question mark.

Because I-PAC comes at a huge cost and political parties are not willing to dish-out astronomous amounts.

Prashant Kishor surely understands that creating a cult costs piles of cash, destroying it takes even more. Hence for that reason citizens of this country will have to bear with the consequences of the ‘Original Sin’ of I-PAC Prashant Kishor’s ‘Frankenstein Monster.’

 

The Madam’s Man...... --- By Nisser Dias

Now:- Mamta Madam's man

Mamta Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party (TMC) testing its political hot-pot in Goa, has curried the political canvas to the extent of chief minister Pramod Sawant terming it as ‘political tourism.

The churning of it has caused Congress party to lose senior party man and Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro. From ‘Sonia Madam’s man to ‘Mamta Madam’s man in his new innings.

But then as the old adage says, ‘rats do desert a sinking ship’. It has happened earlier also, hence it is no surprise. All politicians are opportunist, Luizinho is no exception

The grand old party has been sinking 2014 and very little is being done to refloat it.

Luizinho’s outburst during the press conference after his resignation as an MLA and also as the primary member of the Congress party was complete with half-truths and innuendos, which is his trademark.

He started off on a very wrong note stating he was proud to be born in Navelim, a village of late Dr. Francisco Luis Gomes and Cardinal Oswald Gracias. Incidentally the latter is from the village of Orlim.

Secondly though he could be credited for introducing Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language bill in the legislative assembly in 1986 post the bloodiest agitation for Konkani language, Faleiro cannot take the credit for leading the agitation forcing the government to accept Konkani as the sole official language.

If at all somebody deserves the credit it should be Churchill Alemao who led historic agitation.

Thirdly Faleiro says he was part of student’s agitation, which is another lie as it was Desmond D’costa, Prashant Naik, Jhoti Dhond, Sandesh Prabhudessai, Sabina Martins and others who led this agitation.

Chameleon's hand

Luizinho Faleiro was part of Zuari employee’s union. It is better not to delve deeper into his role in the union.

He spoke about formalin laced fish being brought to Goa. Did he raise the issue in the Assembly? The answer is no. What did he do during his two terms as chief minister of the state for traditional fishermen and trawler owners? Nothing. What has he done to handover the wholesale fish market to Goans? Nothing. But he has the gall to claim credit for the effort of others.

Though Goa gave Congress party the mandate in 2017 to govern, he claims that he was stopped by party observer Digvijay Singh from handing over the ‘intent to form government’ letter to the Governor.

One must remember that the party does not give letter; it is chief ministerial candidate who has the backing of majority of MLAs back presents it.

4 independent MLAs were opposing Faleiro’s move to meet the Governor with the letter as they were opposed to the idea of him being the chief minister. It was an indication that the 4 independent MLAs did not want the repeat of ‘Salazar’s rule’ in Goa.

So it seems like, his own selfish motives to become the chief minister of Goa for the third time eroded the Congress party’s opportunity to form the government.

So also in the last four and half years in the assembly his performance has been dismal. Let him list the motions and bills he has introduced in the Assembly since 2017.

His move to shift political parties is hoodwink TMC into giving him the reins of power again as he has reached the end of the long rope in Congress where his word does not carry weight.

Then:- Sonia Madam's man

One question that is on everybody’s mind is how TMC zeroed in on ‘Sonia Madam’s Man’ to be first to be inducted in the party. The answer to this question lies with one of the media houses holding its sway in Salcete. The ‘patrao’ of this media house is a long-time bum-chum of Faleiro and has been promised Rajya Sabha seat.

Besides one of his employee is also from West Bengal. The Bengali using his connection with his home-state elected and nominated representatives and the ‘patrao’ networked to bring TMC and Luizinho together.

It is a win-win situation for both. While Didi’s party gets a foot hold in Goa, Luizinho was facing anti-incumbency in Navelim. It is rumoured if he fails to win in Navelim he will also be made Rajya Sabha member.

Whether the Madam’s man will be happy with the equation is to be seen in the coming elections.