Manohar Parrikar is clearly subverting basic protocols and decency that governs a relationship between a central minister and a state, even if it happens to be his own state.
On a high with an army of sycophant Goan officers and MLAs who have never quite accepted that he is gone and are waiting for him to come back after Chief Minister Parsekar meekly vacates his chair for him, the Defence Minister and Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, has been insulting the office of the Chief Minister of Goa and flouting basic decorum attached to it. The same man, who detested “interference from Delhi” and even sent back IAS and IPS officers whose names were cleared, for posting in Goa, comes to Goa every single week, in the middle of serious issues his Defence Ministry is grappling with, and tours the state like an MLA attending local functions, where the CM is present but totally ignored. He has actually turned norms of governance into an absolute farce commenting on state issues and bragging that he has solutions, which actually make CM Parsekar look like an incompetent man who has lost control of the state. While this is no clean chit to Parsekar’s governance, Parrikar’s conduct is of the level of a village panch desperate to become a sarpanch. They are unbecoming of a man of his stature and tantamount to belittling his own Chief Minister.
Let there be absolutely no confusion, that the confusion and speculation created over his return has been created by him and some of his statements are downright shocking. Look at this “As Chief Minister you are the King of Goa, while as Defence Minister, you are a Prince of a department”. We ask who has authorized him to make a comment like this which will create so much unease and speculation before the elections. Look at his choice of phrases ‘King’ and ‘Prince’. While this may be the sad reality of political power, it is pertinent to ask when has governance become a kingly power rather than a privilege to serve. These words expose a mindset of a dictator, not a servant of the people.
At the same time, his selective comments to handpicked journalists saying he is “taking over”, or that he is coming back or for that matter he will solve the MoI issue in 15 days, result in the notion of a parallel government being run by Parrikar in the state. Even if it is just tokenism, any change of leadership and the choice of the new incumbent should be left to the MLAs and the party. Mr Parrikar cannot demand and expect the political machinery, the state machinery as well as the communication machinery to function in a manner he desires.
There is obviously no bar on his return and there have been numerous instances of Union Ministers returning to become Chief Ministers of their states, like Sharad Pawar or Prithviraj Chauhan. But that cannot mean that Parrikar returns each weekend to monitor the government of Goa and hog the limelight in local events where the Chief Minister appears clearly uncomfortable .
While Parrikar may well argue that the government was formed because of him and he needs to come back to prevent an electoral debacle next year, there is a manner in which these things are done. In Parrikar’s world however, the CM’s chair is his and others can occupy it only when he desires so. If he had a kingdom and he was king, this might have been accepted. The reality is, that it isn’t.
