Memories return of a gasping Digambar Kamat quitting as the number two of Manohar Parrikar’s government and saying “now I can breathe in peace”. Two years after backstabbing Parrikar, Digambar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Goa in 2007 as a Congress MLA in an alliance government. Parrikar’s deep personal grudge against Digambar and his hate for the former friend turned foe always remains and his words of calling ‘Digambar a Dalal, thief, scamster, someone who betrayed me’ is also heard in his many political speeches at Margao’s Lohia Maidan, Multipurpose Ground or even Fatorda.

But Digambar has always seemed to have moved on with that deep breath in 2005 and never once looked back at his government with Parrikar. Post that in Parrikar’s government in itself and then Pratapsingh Rane’s government and later in his own government, he held on the post of Mines Minister for 13 years until the end of his tenure.

Make no mistake, if there is one politician who Parrikar despises politically, it is Kamat.

While Digambar, every month, has a new thread or rings to sport from his multiple pilgrimages in Shirdi and other parts of India and he point blank says ‘let the almighty alone decide my fate as I pray.’ But surprisingly, there’s no Opposition, no demand for arrest, nothing from within the BJP Mandal in Margao or from any anti Digambar MLAs, MPs or former ministers.

“I am with Kamat and I feel the CM has quasi-judicial powers to condone certain delays and certain rules in mining. The CM’s decision may lack judgement or maybe wrong but for the first time I am seeing criminalization of these decisions which obviously comes up in a sporadic fashion which makes it clear political vendetta and nothing more,” explains the Goa Pradesh Congress President and former two time MP, Shantaram Naik.

But people like Churchill Alemao feel that Kamat has managed to get away and leave them in the lurch

“I was in jail in the Louis Berger alleged scam. But Digambar was my CM when I was PWD minister at that time. He never came in support of me and left me in the dark and I spend some painful moments in jail and fought my own battle and struggled my way back to politics,” says Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao.

Unsuccessful in beating Digambar in a by poll in 2005, state elections in 2007 and 2017 from Margao constituency, BJP’s current Youth Wing President Sharmad Raiturkar also keeps his silence on the matter and says any statement by him as a BJP worker or as an opponent to Digambar will be misconstrued as political vendetta while he refuses to accept that this maybe political vendetta with caution played by his BJP led government. While councillor and former friend and supporter turned foe, Rupesh Mahatme who lost polls to Digambar in 2012 stated that he prefers to stay mum till the court decides in the SIT matter and Digambar’s arrest.

Former MLA Babu Naik’s son Bhai Naik, currently peeved with the BJP says plays the fixing card, “If the BJP can give a ticket to Sharmad Raiturkar and Rupesh Mahatme who was also trounced by Digambar it’s obvious the BJP is in connivance with him on this.”

While constitutional lawyer Cleofato Almeida explains to Herald that the government or the SIT should justify its reasons for arrest to interrogate and also the question why so many questionings are required and why can’t a charge sheet be filed with arrest.

But what’s amazing is how there’s silence from within the Congress, within the BJP, within the voters in Margao.

 While all this happening, Digambar and his family of Asha, his wife and Yogiraj his son continues their multiple pilgrimages while there seems nothing to stop Digambar despite slowing him down at times.