BJP TODAY

February 16--28, 2005 - Vol. 24, No. 4

Murder of Democracy in GOA
By Sudheendra Kulkarni

Shri Manohar Parrikar was truly a chief minister with a difference. In a state that had suffered from the scourge of instability ever since its formation in 1987, the BJP-led government that he headed had become a synonym for stability. In a state where money power had become the lubricant for all political and governmental activities, his government had made a name for its incorruptibility. He was the chief minister of the one of the smallest states in the Indian Union. Nevertheless, whenever Parrikar, an IIT graduate, spoke at a Chief Ministers' conference or in the National Development Council, his speech was not only heard with rapt attention by the entire assembly, but it also invariably received all-round applause. Goa had won plaudits from the Planning Commission, several reputed financial institutions and magazines like India Today as the best-governed state in India.

Opposition chief ministers would ask him: "If Goa has already achieved so much in such a short time, is there anything more left for you to do?" Parrikar's calm answer used to be: "Oh, there is so much more to do. We want to benchmark Goa against globally best parameters in development."

Such a model chief minister got the shock of his life when at 6.10 pm on February 2, he received a letter from the Governor of Goa, Shri S.C. Jamir, informing him that his government had been dismissed. The shock was all the greater since, only a little while before, he had demonstrated majority support to his government in the legislative assembly. In the annals of India's system of democratic rule, this arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional action of the Governor was unprecedented.

But it was also unsurprising. After Pandit Nehru, the Congress party has never genuinely believed that the opposition has a right to exist in this country. During its long rule at the Centre, whenever it had an opportunity to topple an opposition-ruled government in a state and install a Congress government in its place, it did so. (Please see 'Instability: A Congress gift to Goa' on page 8.) And it did so by brazenly misusing the office of the Governor. After coming to power at the Centre in May 2005, albeit in a coalition, the Congress lost no time in initiating a policy of confrontation against the BJP, which is its principal opponent today. It has drawn first blood by toppling the BJP government in Goa, and installing its own government in Panaji, headed by Shri Pratapsinh Rane. It is another matter that Rane's government appears to be tottering even before it is fully formed.

The Goa Governor's shocking action was best described by BJP President Shri L.K. Advani. He called it a "command performance at the behest of the Congress high command". He added, "What has happened in Panaji is nothing short of murder of democracy."

It was obvious to political observers that destabilization of BJP-run state governments was the principal motivation behind the UPA government's decision to summarily sack governors appointed by the previous NDA government, and appoint a new set of governors. Shri Jamir, who had earned a very bad reputation during his long stint as the chief minister of Nagaland, was sent to Panaji as the new governor of Goa. The brief given to him by the Congress high command was simple: ensure the downfall of the Parrikar government at the earliest.

On a parallel track, the Congress high command hatched a plot to slash away the support enjoyed by the BJP government in the Assembly. (A perception has been created by a section of the media that instability in Goa was caused by defection of or revolt by BJP MLAs. This is totally untrue. None of the 17 MLAs of the BJP, who had won in the Assembly elections in June 2002, has defected.) The trigger for the current political storm in the state was provided by the war against corruption waged by the Parrikar government. The chief minister had won widespread appreciation from all sections of the people in Goa for his pro-development approach and his spotlessly clean image. However, the Congress smelt an opportunity to strike when Parrikar took action against one of his ministers, Shri Atanasio "Babush" Monserrate, a UGDP MLA who had later joined the BJP. As the minister of Town and Country Planning, he had allegedly indulged in massive corruption by recklessly dereserving public land for commercial purposes. The people were naturally concerned that Goa would be ruined if this went unchecked.

On January 27, the chief minister stripped Monserrate of this important portfolio, knowing fully that this could reduce his own government's majority in the Assembly. The latter resigned from the cabinet. Then, at the instigation of the Congress, he, along with three other MLAs who had pledged their support to the BJP government, resigned from the House. This reduced the effective strength of the 40-member Assembly to 36. Huge amounts of money were reportedly paid by Congress moneybags to secure the resignations of the four MLAs.

The Congress party immediately claimed that Parrikar's government had lost its majority and wanted the Governor to install a new government headed by Shri Rane. Aware that Raj Bhavan had become hyper-active to oblige the Congress party, Shri Parrikar convened a meeting of the council of ministers on January 31, and decided to face a vote of confidence on February 3. However, the Governor directed the Speaker to fix the trial of strength on February 2, although he had no powers to do so. He also asked the Speaker to send his report to the Governor's Office "immediately".

In the trial of strength on February 2, Parrikar's government received the support of 18 MLAs, with 6 MLAs voting against the motion.

After declaring the outcome of the confidence vote, the Speaker adjourned the House at 5.45 pm. However, in less than 30 minutes, Shri Parrikar received the letter of dismissal from the Governor. The record at the Legislative Assembly shows that the letter-carrying rider from the Governor's Office had arrived at the Assembly at 5.45 pm. It takes at least 15 minutes to drive from the Raj Bhavan to the Legislative Assembly.

This proves that the Governor had prepared and signed the letter of dismissal even before the outcome of the confidence vote was known and also before receiving — as demanded by the Governor himself — an official report from the Speaker. This is further corroborated by the fact that when the Congress MLAs went to Raj Bhavan, they found to their own surprise and glee that the Governor had already issued orders for dismissing the Parrikar government. What further proof is needed to establish the pre-meditated nature of the Governor's arbitrary action at the behest of the Congress leadership?

The Governor compounded his guilt not only by swearing in Shri Rane with indecent and conspiratorial haste on the night of February 2 itself, but also by giving him 30 days — as against only one day given to Shri Parrikar -- to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

The BJP leadership has quickly swung into action to protest against this "coup d'état in Goa staged by the Governor for the benefit of the Congress party". On February 3, a delegation of senior BJP leaders, led by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shri L.K. Advani, and including all the MLAs belonging to the BJP in Goa, called on the President of India and presented a memorandum. The Governor's action will be challenged in the Bombay High Court. The Party has also given a call for observing February 8 as "Save Democracy - Remove Jamir" Day throughout the country.
The BJP is confident that, with the support of the democracy-loving people of Goa and the rest of the country, the ultimate victory will be ours.