Team Herald
MARGAO: Several citizens of Margao have expressed anger at the proposed ordinance to elect chairpersons of Municipalities by a show of hands, rather than through a secret ballot. People of the commercial city are of the opinion that amending the Municipal Act by getting an ordinance enforced to grab power at the Municipal level is a shameful act, and sets a bad precedent.
This ordinance will not be limited to Margao alone, but is going to be the law in the future, and will be applicable to all the self-governing bodies and its members. “This is nothing but total political interference in local body politics. While every successive government is dragging its feet over the implementation of the 73rd and 74th amendment, this government is now introducing its command over the local bodies, via the proposed ordinance,” said Edwin Lourenco.
Former MMC Chairperson Ghanashyam Shirodkar told Herald that he strongly condemns Margao MLA Digambar Kamat for his “dubious scheme”.
“In the first place, he has cheated the mandate of the people, and the Gods, by defecting to the BJP. Now, he is adopting crude means to ensure that non-BJP aligned councillors vote for a BJP-backed chairperson candidate; and this is again a treachery against the people, who voted to defeat BJP candidates during the Municipal elections held last year,” he said.
However, Camilo Barreto, one of the councillors from the BJP camp, welcomed the proposed ordinance and said that no councillor will be able to “cheat” at the time of electing the chairperson.
“It will be a rule once passed and we have to follow it. There is no point in opposing the proposed ordinance,” he remarked. Meanwhile, Kamat told reporters that the Goa Municipal Act does not specify that the election should be held by secret ballot.
“The Margao MLA was with us for the past several years, but had never insisted or suggested that the Chairperson should not be elected by secret ballot. However, now he suddenly feels that a secret ballot is not the correct practice,” said Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai, to whom one group of MMC councillors are affiliated.
Sardesai remarked that Kamat was at present behaving like a Minister and defending the ordinance.
Upset about the development, Margao resident Loyola Rodrigues said, “The people of Margao had elected non-BJP councillors, who are now pressurised to vote for a BJP Chairperson. Isn’t this scamming the voters of Margao?”
