Team Herald
PANJIM: The ongoing Louis Berger bribery case involving MLA and former Congress Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had its impact during the recently concluded 15-day long monsoon session of the State Legislative Assembly.
The otherwise vocal and self-styled only Opposition voices – Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and Independent MLA (close aide of Kamat) Vijai Sardesai were both far less vocal in their attack on the BJP-led government. While this certainly raised eyebrows, there are many who felt that Laxmikant Parsekar succeeded where Manohar Parrikar failed – silence the voluble Opposition. While the Assembly session was on, sections in the Ruling party carefully placed “off the record” information to strategic media people, that Sardesai was in the radar of the Crime Branch for money having allegedly been handed over at his residence.
The Assembly session had two distinct phases: The very short pre-Louis Berger case phase and the arrests phase (Phase 1) and the post phase (Phase 2)
July 27: The Assembly session began on a stormy note, with Independent MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Rohan Khaunte and Congressman Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco ushered out of the House by marshalls after they trooped in the well of the House demanding the resignation of the Industries Minister for misusing a housing loan given to him by the Assembly, to construct shops for commercial use.
Two days later, Lourenco was asked to move out of the House after he tried to disturb the House proceedings on the issue of Medium of Instruction.
July 27: A M Wachasundar arrested: The ex-Head of the JICA sponsored project for which a consortium of which Louis Berger was chosen, was arrested on the opening day of the session. The impact was felt two days later when former chief minister Digambar Kamat was summoned by the Crime Branch and was missing from the Assembly. The aggressiveness of the Opposition crumbled. And when former PWD minister Churchill Alemao and Kamat applied for anticipatory bail, the Opposition virtually caved in.
The sea change was palpable. For instance, in phase 1 Sardesai and Lourenco had threatened not to allow the Assembly to function if Industries Minister Mahadev Naik didn’t resign due to the allegations of corruption. In Phase 2, when Naik took the floor, even when replying to questions and during the demands to grants to Industries, Social Welfare, Women and Child Welfare and others, there was not a squeak for the lions turned lambs.
Surprisingly, Lourenco and Sardesai stood in support of a motion congratulating Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar (who otherwise has been at the receiving end of Sardesai on tourism issues), a fact that was discussed within and outside the Assembly hall.
Political commentators who have closely followed the previous sessions of the Legislative Assembly, found Sardesai wanting in more ways than one. His pet subjects – Industries and Tourism – on which he otherwise grilled the ministers went untouched, except for Day 1 and then towards the end of the session on August 13 when he spoke against the amendment to the Agricultural Tenancy Act.
Sardesai defended this saying, “The entire Louis Berger case was nothing but an attempt to divert the Assembly session from the main issues. It was a well-played game by the BJP. The entire session was hijacked by the Ruling side wherein the opposition was not even allowed to speak.”
Though Lourenco’s name does not figure in the Louis Berger controversy, he too remained silent possibly due to lack of support from colleagues, including Leader of the Opposition Pratapsingh Rane. He did raise some questions but was not supported by his colleagues, and was once even told to keep quiet and sit down by the Chief Minister.
“The Speaker was biased…he did not allow the opposition to raise their voices…. I don’t think the Louis Berger case silenced us but I was left with no support… The Leader of the Opposition needs to be more supportive and aggressive,” Lourenco said.
