The three-day session of the State Legislative Assembly ended with the citizenry of the State not aware of what lies ahead for them during the year. The Budget merely allocated money to the various departments, with no announcements of the plans of the government. The main thrust of the Governor’s speech was the new deadline for achieving the open defecation free status, a target date that has been extended several times, succeeding in keeping Goa at the bottom of the list of States in achieving the 100 per cent ODF status. The Governor then went on to list the achievements of the government, leaving out the plans for the future. The Budget did the same.
There was valid criticism from the opposition Congress on the Budget. The Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said that for the second successive year the people have been let down by the Budget as there is nothing in it for them. Yes, a detailed Budget should have been tabled, that is the least that was expected from the government, especially since there wasn’t one last year. The Congress spokesperson Ramakant Khalap quite rightly said that the presentation of the Budget was merely a formality. His words, ‘The entire process was a mockery of Goans. This is a surgical strike on the future of Goans,’ will resonate well with the people, who have got used to borrowing terms from films to describe everyday situations. The ‘josh’ may be there, but how far ahead will statements and playing on emotions take this State?
If Khalap, on behalf of the Congress, made the statements outside the House, the party MLAs inside the House showed little ‘josh’ in taking on the government. The Appropriation Bill was passed by voice vote, with not even an effort being made to demand a division. Granted, the opposition didn’t have the numbers on its side, but shouldn’t it at least have attempted to put the government on the mat? That is its role, and it failed, miserably, allowing a coalition government that is ridden by factionalism, with ministers outside the House talking of Plan A and Plan B to keep the government afloat, to survive without a fight. The opposition was unable to convert this disgruntlement among the coalition partners and shake up the proceedings of the House even a tad bit. It’s an opportunity lost by the Congress, as the next session will now possibly be only during the monsoons.
The government had some real smooth sailing this session. It was never tested and the State has little to look ahead for in the year. Soon after the session ended, the Chief Minister flew to New Delhi for a medical checkup. It is obvious that the Chief Minister is feeling the strain of running the government. Months ago there was speculation that he would divest some of the portfolios that he had been holding to his cabinet colleagues, so as to reduce his workload. This hasn’t been done and we have seen governance being affected. Ministers, in the past months, did complain of this, but are now not bringing it up. This Assembly session and the tabling of a Financial Appropriation Bill instead of a full Budget are evidences that the administration is suffering.
Goa needs a government that is responsive to the requirements of the State and the people. Just recently, the Chief Minister asked the people to be positive. It really does become very difficult to remain positive when we are unaware of what the immediate future holds for the State. We depend on the State Budget to tell us that, and it hasn’t done so. All Goans can do is hope that the Union Budget today will send some good news, so that there can be some hope and we can remain positive.
