The constituencies of St Cruz and Taleigao witnessed different reactions on May 4th when news of the involvement of legislator Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate in a sexual assault case came to light. While a few maintained that he needs to be punished for his crime, others felt that it was a political game by the party in power to keep him from the Panjim constituency. “Love me or hate me, you just can’t ignore me” is his stance in Taleigao which has been his fiefdom for years now, after the unceremonious exit of Somnath Zuwarkar.
While his penchant for purchasing property and expensive automobiles is the talk in every small time bar in the constituency, the charges of human trafficking and raping a minor girl seem to be difficult for people to digest.
“We have seen him in Taleigao. As per my observation, he is very respectful towards married women or divorcees, or women who have separated,” said Sebastian Ferrao (name changed), a resident of the constituency.
However, it is not known how this can be a defence against serious charges of raping a minor girl
Taleigaokaars vouch for this and point out to the number of women representatives in the councils headed by Babush in the Corporation of the City of Panjim, Taleigao and St Cruz panchayats.
“Painting him as a pervert is unfair. I don’t have to comment on the case as the girl has come forward and filed it. But the ground reality is that we don’t see him as vulgar,” he added.
Monserrate has had a brush with the law in similar circumstances in the past when his son, Rohit was booked for raping a minor German girl. The entire case finally crumbled when the woman withdrew the complaint and the younger Monserrate was acquitted.
Babush belongs to the style of politicians who have earned a ‘Robinhood’ type of image. Long queues in front of his office before every academic year to get free notebooks and people waiting for financial assistance is not a new sight for locals. “He drives his own car and gives lifts to people on the way This is where he wins the hearts of people,” another resident chimed in, leaving nothing to the imagination of how he buys popularity
When the case was filed against the MLA, the BJP camp in Taleigao sounded jubilant thinking that it signaled the end of the Babush era. “I don’t think any parent of a teenage girl will vote for Babush now. He has lost respect. How is he going to ask for votes now?” a senior BJP leader asked, preferring to remain anonymous.
BJP’s Dattaprasad Naik has said that justice should be delivered to the victim and if the legislator is guilty, he must be punished. The BJP ticket aspirant has remained tight lipped over developments, even as people around him find it as a God sent opportunity.
The Catholic dominated constituency has seen numerous changes since Babush took over. “The kind of development that Babush has overseen is unprecedented. Taleigao is more posh as compared to Panjim,” another resident said.
“Cases have to be decided in court. However, if you want to vote for Babush from a development point of view, it is the right choice. As far as he has not harmed any local girl, I don’t think that people will buy the argument that he’s a womanizer,” said Olancio Rebello (name changed), a businessman from Taleigao.
Baffled? Shocked? But that’s Taleigao for you. A long as the victim is not a “local” girl, all’s well with the world. Or at least the world of Babush Monseratte.
