It is not in the stars to
hold our destiny but in ourselves, wrote William Shakespeare. But many a time
while introspecting, we tend to blame not just the stars but every possible
person or factor but ourselves. Our Congress politicians have started this
exercise after a week of shocked silence. They don’t seem to have grown any
wiser, judged from the outbursts, specially of the defeated candidates. From
the electronic voting machines to the priests of the Catholic Church, the
explanations are as numerous as they are humorous. To the comic relief of the
optimist and the utter disgust of the pessimist in us.
The blame game on public
display is more cool and enjoyable now than was the uttering and muttering
before the elections in a tense and heated atmosphere. But as citizens concerned about the future of
Goa and democracy, we need to worry. Not because the future is not safe with
the Bharatiya Janata Party in power but because the onus of
a bright and better future for Goa is not only on the shoulders of the ruling
party but in the voice of the opposition. The discordant notes of the erstwhile
coalition government have given way to the strong voice of the leader of the new
government. It has to be matched by an
equally strong chorus of the opposition, which has been reduced to 22.5% in a
house of forty. The last time when there was change in 1980, the until then
ruling Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party had been reduced to a humble 23.33% presence in a house of thirty.
What is lacking in numbers
can be made up by quality. One man can make the difference! Indeed, the man who
made the difference in the last assembly is heading the government today. Will the Congress learn a lesson from
him? It would be good to remember
the history chapter of 1980 before I proceed. The MGP lost miserably after
ruling the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. It was a tidal wave for the
Congress which swallowed the then Chief Minister Sashikala Kakodkar in her
bastion of Bicholim and salvaged only seven
seats for the party. The gentle and mild Ramakant Khalap was leading the legislative wing when the defeated Party President Kakodkar decided to merge the MGP with the
ruling Congress. Five MGP legislators joined her. The opposition was decimated.
And yet, two MLAs led by Khalap kept the MGP flag alive by resisting the merger.
Khalap became a veritable lion. It is another matter that now he has been
reduced to a lamb after joining the Congress. The two member MGP rose within ten years to
win eighteen seats in the first post statehood election in 1989. And it formed
a short-lived coalition government with Congress defectors in 1990, with
Churchill Alemao stabbing the Congress within four months of being elected as MLA
for the first time. The MGP never came back to power by itself since then, and
the musical or rather non-musical chairs of defections became the order or
rather the disorder of the day for the next eighteen years.
A new chapter has now begun
with the BJP attaining absolute majority, even without its alliance partners.
Hopefully, it signals the end of ‘defection raj’. The massive mandate given by
the people of Goa has to be respected in normal circumstances. The Congress has
to play the role of a dignified and responsible opposition. The party must now
grow as an opposition, and from the rank of an opposition to a viable future
alternative ruling regime. No short cuts. The voters have rejected the rulers
in the government and not just the party. This is obvious as eight out of
twelve cabinet ministers have been defeated and two ministers elected with
reduced margins. The only saving grace has been Digambar Kamat, the former
Chief Minister, who was more of a coordinator with his good nature. Any way, he
was never allowed to function as CM by the contradictions in his own cabinet.
His present silence is his best contribution in the post election scenario just
as his willingness to listen and attempt to respond to diverse demands, albeit
unsuccessfully, may be considered his best point as CM.
Some defeated Congress
politicians, it appears, are using their lobbies to retain as much power as
possible either through proxy in the legislative wing or by capturing the
organizational set-up. Those who wish the Congress well in future would want
none of these to succeed. It will be in the best interest of the Congress and
of Goa to have a combination of clean veterans and fresh faces, with potential
for effective long term leadership, to be in the vanguard. To watch and pray,
not play and prey on. To work out win-win solutions for Goa and people’s
candidates for the future, not rework on ‘winnable’ candidates of the past. To
inculcate values in the system and reward loyalty, not put premium on
corruption and defection. To build a service oriented organization with service
minded cadre.
The verdict is for change in
government, yes, but also for change within the party. Remember the words of
the French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: The future belongs to those
who give the next generation reason for hope.
Published in The Navhind Times,
Panorama 18.03.2012
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