Ulhas D Kamat
The erstwhile Union Territory Government of Goa, Daman & Diu was initially dominated by the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) for over 15 years from 1963 to 1979, and thereafter by the Congress for the next 7 years between 1980 and 1987. The strength of the Council of Ministers during the 15-year MGP rule of Bhausaheb Bandodkar and Shashikala Kakodkar was restricted to only 4 (including the CM), but was allowed to be raised to 6 with the blessings of the Central Government the moment the Congress headed by Pratapsingh Rane took over the reins of the administration.
However, due to wafer thin majority enjoyed by both these Governments in a 30-member house and as a result of the ceiling limit placed on the strength of the Cabinet, the only option left for the Government to survive was to keep the two independent MLAs elected from Daman & Diu in good humour. And what better way to do this than to bestow on them the coveted positions of the Speaker and/or the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for their outside support to the Government of the day. So we had the late MR Jiwani of Diu as the Deputy Speaker of the 1st Legislative Assembly (April 1964-March 1966), the Late Narayan Fugro elected from Diu as the Speaker of the 3rd Legislative Assembly (March 1972-June 1977), the late MM Bhatela from Daman as the Deputy Speaker of the 4th Legislative Assembly (June 1977-April 1979) and finally the late Dr Shambhai Solanki from Diu as the Deputy Speaker of the 5th Legislative Assembly (June 1985-May 1987). The tenure of Dr Solanki was however cut short when the overland districts of Daman & Diu were delinked from Goa on May 30, 1987.
After Goa attained Statehood in 1987, the strength of the Goa Legislative Assembly was raised to 40 (12 more from what Goa had before), and where otherwise the Representation of People Act, 1951 envisage that the Council of Ministers at the Centre and in the States should not exceed 10% of the strength of the House, an exception was made in respect of smaller states like Goa, permitting them a maximum of 12 ministers (including the Chief Minister). Consequently, as against 6 Ministers (increased from initial 4) in a 30-member house in UT of Goa, Daman & Diu, after Statehood the public of Goa has been saddled with the increased strength of 40 MLAs of whom as many as 12 are ministers, besides the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. As per the rest, there are ever increasing number of State owned Boards and Corporations formed to compensate the MLAs supporting the Government who cannot be made ministers. Most of them enjoy the rank and status of Cabinet Ministers, thereby enabling them to recruit the same compliment of staff as is admissible to Cabinet Ministers.
Be that as it may, the fact remains that post Statehood, the increased strength of the House has provided more impetus to our elected worthies to indulge in the endless game of musical chairs with scant regard for the principles of the party they are elected from or the constituents they represent. This is evident from the fact that except for 7 months of President’s Rule in 2 spans of 4 months and 3 months, the Goan public has seen as many as 10 Chief Ministers during the last 30 years; Pratapsingh Rane being 4 times, the late Dr Wilfred De Souza and the late Manohar Parrikar 3 times each, Ravi Naik and Luizinho Faleiro twice each and the late Dr Luis Proto Barbosa, Churchill Alemao, Francisco Sardinha, Digamber Kamat and Laxmikant Parsekar once each.
Furthermore, Churchill Alemao and Ravi Naik have gone in the Guinness book of records for having donned the mantle of Chief Ministership for as low as 18 days and 7 days respectively.
Where earlier in the UT set-up, the Government of the day had to depend upon the 2 independent MLAs from Daman & Diu for outside support, since last 30 years it has been the regional parties with 2 to 3 MLAs and independents who are calling the shots in any Government formation. They have succeeded in making mockery of the Anti Defection Act, by engineering splits in parties initially in retail (1/3rd) and recently in wholesale (2/3rd) for the loaves and fishes of office.
In fact, the Goan public is often put to shame as and when the rulings of the Presiding Officer of our House are often relied upon as Case Laws when defections by MLAs in some States are challenged in the High Courts and even in the Supreme Court. Of interest is the fact that since last 20 years, the MGP headed by Ramkrishna Dhavalikar with 2 to 3 MLAs at his command, had been a permanent fixture in any Government formation. Having been involved in the nitty gritty of the public works from his initial grooming as PWD contractor, Dhavalikar was aptly qualified to hold the coveted portfolio of PWD in any government, so much so that in the corridors of power, PWD had become synonymous with “Permanently With Dhavalikar”. As the recent events unfolded, the old adage that blood is thicker than water broke that jink, and ultimately, his loyalty to his younger brother contributed to his downfall.
Whether his “eclipse” is temporary or not, time alone will tell as the politicians have no expiry date and are often prone to bounce back. Some of them are capable of getting elected on any party ticket and even as independents, either due to the patronage they enjoy or the largess they distribute among their constituents.
Thus the games they play could aptly be summed up as “The Dance of Democracy”.
