The signals emerging from the government appear to be now quite clear. There is no leadership change being considered as of this moment. Putting all speculation to rest, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar chaired a meeting of the Investment Promotion Board on one day and of the cabinet on the next. Both were held at his private residence, where he is recuperating, and those attending the two meetings emerged assured that the CM is fine. After eight months of uncertainty, in the space of less than a week, Goa not only officially learnt that the Chief Minister was suffering from pancreatic cancer, but was also reassured that he was on the road to recovery.
The consensus among ministers is that the Chief Minister is fine, even looking good. Sample here a few of the comments. Tourism Minister Manohar (Babu) Azgaonkar said the CM ‘looked really good’, IT Minister Rohan Khaunte said he ‘chaired the meeting and chaired it effectively’, Speaker Pramod Sawant said ‘he was fine’. All this on Tuesday, the day the Chief Minister chaired the Investment Promotion Board meeting. The following day, on Wednesday, when he chaired the cabinet meeting, the first after August 1, this year, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai said the ‘CM looked good’ and Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho went on to say that ‘CM was fully fit’.
Change or leadership, redistribution of portfolios, issues that have been the topic of debate for well over a month were not taken up. There is now, as ministers have pointed out, no need for a leadership change. These were some of the same ministers who even earlier in October were seeking a permanent solution to the political crisis, and had admitted that the CM’s absence had affected the functioning of the administration. They were also some of the same ministers who had met with the BJP brass in New Delhi seeking solutions to the crisis. But, with the Chief Minister’s cabinet colleagues reassured that all is well, Goa now looks forward to governance being speeded up.
With the leadership issue apparently settled, there is one question that, however, remains unanswered and that is: when will the CM return to office and take charge of the State’s affairs from the secretariat? As Godinho pointed out, the CM will be resting for some time, so he can’t be expected to return to the secretariat in the coming days. But the minister also said that the CM would speak to ministers individually on issues concerning their departments, which signifies that the reins of government are firmly in the hands of Manohar Parrikar. Will that knowledge give the government and the bureaucracy a boost and hasten the pace of work?
Also, can the State now put aside the question on the Chief Minister’s health and the leadership issue, and return to the other pressing issues that are at hand? At the cabinet meeting there was no decision taken on recruitments and nothing has been said on the resumption of mining. These are two issues that the ministers and MLAs have a personal interest in, as it directly concerns the people and even the fortunes of the politicians at the next elections. This was expected to figure quite prominently in any cabinet meeting, as there have been much grumbling across the board of recruitments being held up for months.
The Chief Minister and the government he leads have to deliver. The time lost in discussion of leadership change and portfolio distribution has to be recovered by bringing in an urgency, that has not been visible, to pressing matters of governance. That is what Goa asks of the government for now – speedier decisions on matters that affect the State.
