In the 62-year history of parliamentary democracy in Goa, this is perhaps the second time that Goa has witnessed a two-day Assembly session or less. The Opposition has charged that while in Kerala, the legislature meets for 50 days in a year and Karnataka for 60 days in a year, for the Goa legislature, the yearly count is only 26 days.
If people are the ultimate sovereigns in a democracy and government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, then surely a two-day session is the lowest point of democracy in Goan history. In fact, a new word can be coined to say it’s de-mock-racy - attempt to mock the demos (people). In fact, Goa has had a horrendous past few months: in terms of the number of rapes, murders, kidnapping, assaults at shacks, crushing inflation, collapse of law and order, unrestrained destruction of the environment, filling of fields, violation of construction and building laws, massive job scams, and more.
Given this socio-political-economic and ecological assault on the state and its people, does the government not find the necessity to discuss these issues? Does the government not have the courage to provide an opportunity to the depleted Opposition, which has been destroyed by the devouring of its MLAs, to question them on the floor of the House? The Opposition has rightly charged that the government – even with its brute majority – appears to be scared to face Question Hour, which is a weapon of parliamentary democracy to hold the government to account.
Since the people cannot hold the government and the ruling MLAs accountable on a day-to-day basis, the parliamentary system has devised mechanisms of accountability to keep the elected representatives on their toes. These include: Question Hour, adjournment motion, Zero Hour, half-hour discussions, discussion on bills, discussion on the budget, cut motions, discussion of Governor’s address, censure motions and more. Presently, the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government has a brute strength of 33 MLAs in a house of 40, plus the support of the Independent MLA from Cortalim. It is widely speculated that it also has the covert support of at least two Congress MLAs, 1 AAP MLA and many Congress party men. Why is it scared of the Opposition despite this is something that flummoxes the public?
Many of the job scam agents are alleged to have links with the party. The Suleman Siddiqui saga has completely tarnished the face of the government even as the government has denied all the allegations made by Suleman. In his first video, Suleman has alleged that he was beaten in the presence of the SP and an MLA and asked to surrender land. Recently it is alleged that Suleman said that the second video attempting to incriminate the Opposition, was made at gunpoint. The government has not been able to convincingly fend off these grave allegations. The assault on tourists and locals at the shacks, the touting and gangs allegedly operating in the Bardez beach belt, the crimes against women and kidnapping of children have touched a point never seen in the history of Goa.
Yet, it is shocking to note that the government has nothing to discuss in the Goa Assembly after a period of six months and holds a symbolic two-day session. One day has passed by delivering the customary Governor’s Address, with no discussion of any sort in the afternoon of February 6. That left the Opposition with just February 7, where the Green Cess Scam, as alleged by the Opposition, was discussed. Apart from that, hardly anything substantive came up. How much business can be transacted in a day? Plus the government suspended the rules to steamroll pending bills. How can the Opposition hold the government to account on so many issues of such gravity, which are tarnishing the image of Goa? How can the people hold the government accountable through their elected representatives through the five-year term? Or do the government and elected representatives want to be accountable only at the time of election, by molly-coddling the naïve people of Goa, by dishing out goodies and cash for votes?
In such a seemingly hopeless situation, a massive people’s movement, beginning from Goa, for the Right to Recall is the only way out. The Right to Recall has been introduced in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Himachal and Haryana at the Panchayat level. This will be historic, since Goa has many firsts, such as the Opinion Poll, to start a movement to dismiss the elected MLA for defection, corruption, scams, interfering in police cases or other such grave matters. This is the only way people of Goa can ensure accountability, especially from governments with a brute majority and who do not bother about people's issues, going by the way Goans are suffering on a daily basis.