Vijai smells a rat
Vijaibab has smelt a rat in Goa Housing Board’s plan to acquire massive land at Arlem, bordering Fatorda and Curtorim constituency. He suspects that the move is intended to harass his close friend, Bollywood film producer Xavier Marques and in the bargain checkmate him politically.
He feels the government is hell bent in targeting him given his close proximity to the Bollywood producer. Vijaibab has cried foul over the plan to acquire over 35,000 sq mts of land from a private land owner to set up a housing board. When the Housing Board proposal came before the SGPDA meeting, Vijaibab led from the front to oppose the same, leaving the PDA with no option than to record its observations, objecting to the land acquisition. But Vijaibab knows for sure that SGPDA’s objection cannot stop the government or the Housing Board from going ahead with the land acquisition. Sources said Vijaibab has told his friends that he has no stakes in the property, but at the same time he feels that government just cannot dispossess someone of his property in a settlement area, more so when the very same SGPDA had granted permission for the change in zone over a year and half ago. Inquires revealed that this is not the first time the Goa Housing Board has proposed acquisition of the property. The previous government had put the property for acquisition, but the proceedings were dropped midway when Vijaibab’s close friend Nilkant Halarnkar took over the reigns of the Housing Board. Sources in the know say that Xavierbab is presently out of the country and Vijaibab is waiting for his return to launch a counter attack and stop the saffron march from acquiring the multi-crore property. It’s indeed a multi-crore property and the Vijai-Xavier combine is unlikely to give in without a fight.
A perfect bonhomie
The weekend saw Manoharbhai once again returning to Xaxtidom ~ this time to accept the Gulab Man of the Year award. He made a brief appearance at the Ravindra Bhavan to accept the award, but his dramatic entry and exit did not escape the attention of the packed audience at the Pai Tiatrist hall. It was perhaps the first time in recent years that people spotted Manoharbhai and Congress general secretary Luizinhbab exchanging pleasantries, leaving them spell bound.
Luizinhbab was heard telling something to Manoharbhai and the Chief Minister’s body language showed that the two leaders shared a perfect bonhomie ~ nearly a decade after they were locked in a battle over saffronisation and corruption. Supporters of the Varca strongman seated in the auditorium must have certainly wondered what’s happening at the Ravindra Bhavan. Incidentally, Manoharbhai decided to leave the hall when the compere made an announcement that noted Konkani singer Francis de Tuem will soon belt out a song.
Call it sheer coincidence or otherwise, before the singer could take the stage Manoharbai trooped out of the auditorium on the pretext that he had to immediately return back to Panjim. But he was spotted seated in the canteen sipping a cup of hot tea, and chatting with media persons. It’s not known whether Manoharbhai was aware that Tuem would sing a song on the Mopa airport, exposing politicians, including his Health Minister Parsekarbhau, for buying huge land at Mopa. Certainly, Manoharbhai found an escape route and wriggled himself out of an embarrassing situation.
Message for the Alemaos
It was a week when Caitubab sent a message loud and clear to the Alemaos that he will go all out to defend his case on the question of his Portuguese nationality. Even as the Varca strongman and his siblings were hoping that the verdict against Caitubab would be out by July end, the Benaulim MLA sprang a surprise. His decision to knock the doors of the Supreme Court paid dividends as the court set aside the Delhi High Court order directing Union Home Ministry to decide Caitubab’s nationality issue within eight weeks. Well, the SC order triggered jubilations in the Caitu camp in Delhi and back home in Benaulim. His close aide and PA Elvisbab called up all and sundry from the national capital to inform about the SC order. So much so, that even a statement about the court’s decision was mailed to the media to ensure that it received wide publicity. The Varca strongman and his close aide Radharaobab, who had filed the petition in the Delhi High Court on behalf of Varca resident John Fernandes, however, appear unfazed by the SC order. They say that the SC order has not given any relief to their bête noire. In fact Radharaobab says that the SC order has only postponed the final verdict by the Union Home Ministry by a few more weeks. But Radharaobab and the Varca strongman will now have to wait for a few more weeks, if not months, and hope for a vacancy in Benaulim. The message emanating from the Caitu camp is crystal clear: Caitubab will defend his fort till the last and will exhaust all options and legal remedies to ensure that he continues to preside over the affairs in Benaulim constituency. The SC order appears just the beginning of a long drawn out legal battle between the Caitu and Alemaos camps in the battle over Benaulim.
A dinner with a mission?
After a long, long time, Margaret Alvabai (Sorry, Her Excellency) descended on Goa this week and interacted with her close Congress leaders from the State. This is perhaps the first time that Margaretbai visited Goa after assuming office as the Governor of Rajasthan. Sources in the know said that Congress heavyweight and former Power Minister Alexiobab played a perfect host to Margaretbahi and other Congress leaders. Former PWD Minister Churchillbab is believed to have called on Margaretbai and so did other State Congress leaders. Alexiobab has told his friends that there was no politics behind Margaretbai’s visit to Goa. And he says that no political significance should be attached to the dinner hosted by him for the visiting dignitary. He is believed to have maintained that Congress leaders from all camps in Goa attended the dinner meeting with Margaretbai and hence dismissed speculations whether the former AICC Goa desk in-charge was in Goa to support his candidature.
Sources in the Congress camp, however, said that Congress leaders are trying to find out whether Margaretbai was in favour of Alexiobab taking over the party reigns. Sources say that Alexiobab’s name for the GPCC post first emerged in Delhi, but a senior Congress leader from Goa ticked off the Congress MLAs about the reported move before the CLP members ganged up against the former Power Minister by throwing their lot behind Agnelbab. All said and done, Alexiobab hosting a diner for Her Excellency has certainly raised eyebrows in the Congress camp.
