PANJIM: The third session of the Seventh Goa Legislative Assembly, which concluded on Monday, brought to the fore the strength of the alliance partners in the BJP-led government.
The 15-day monsoon session was dominated by alliance partners Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Independents, especially Rohan Khaunte.
The session also showed that Congress does not have a leader who can take on the might of the Parrikar-Sardesai-Khaunte combine.
MAJOR BILLS PASSED: The session was well utilised by Goa Forward and Khaunte to fulfill the promises they had made to the electorate, who were disappointed after they aligned with the BJP to form the government.
The Goa Forward-Khaunte combine not only forced the government to revert the declassification of the coconut palm as a tree, but also got it the status of ‘State Tree” by passing the Goa Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
As per their promise, the government also passed the The Goa Agriculture Tenancy (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which overturned the earlier amendment of 2014 that many felt was one of the major reasons for BJP’s debacle in the polls. The Bill was introduced by Revenue Minister Khaunte.
Besides, this the Goa Highways (Amendment) Bill, the Goa Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017, the Goa Compensation to the Project Affected and Vesting of Land in the Government Bill, 2017, and Acquisition of Property Bill, 2017 and Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2017 were mostly submitted at the behest of the alliance partners.
Only one Bill, Goa Requisition and Acquisition of Property Bill, 2017, was referred to the Select Committee following demands from the Opposition.
ALL’S NOT WELL WITH SOME ALLIES: At least two occasions proved all is not well among some ruling party MLAs and ally ministers. The first was the free for all between Tourism Minister Manohar (Babu) Azgaonkar of the MGP and GTDC Chairman Nilesh Cabral, the BJP MLA from Curchorem
It started after Azgaonkar said he would order an inquiry into the leasing of GTDC properties in the last five years and was challenged by Cabral to do so. Thereafter, speaking to Herald, Cabral, a Corporation Chairman, demanded that MLAs need to be given more than one corporation.
AND THEN ONE OF THEIR OWN, IRKED PARRIKAR: The second instance was when Deputy Speaker and NGPDA chairman Michael Lobo created a furore in the House when he said that BJP lost because of the amendment to Tenancy Act. This made Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar uncomfortable, who replied saying, “I don’t think so.”
Not only this, insiders say that Lobo got a mouthful during the tea break from the CM for expressing his views openly in the House.
CONGRESS FAILURE: Apart from the first day the Congress failed to make any valid point in the Assembly. It also proved that the Congress leaders seemed to be limited only to works not done in their constituencies.
Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant (Babu) Kavalekar, had some good points to raise but failed to present them properly or keep up the momentum.
This also proved that without Khaunte and Sardesai, the Opposition seems to have crumbled. It is pertinent that the duo was instrumental in exposing the wrongs of the previous government both in and out of Assembly.
