By Mario Cabral E Sa

The month that was, not unlike the earlier months and, perhaps, the months that will follow, zigzagged its way between hope and, to put it as midly as one can, despondency. We woke up one Sunday morning to read in Chief Minister Francisco Sardinha’s weekly column for a local newspaper (Weekender, the Sunday issue of Gomantak Times) that he was firmly committed to root out corruption. Shabas, shabas, we all said in glee, speaking for myself rising an inch or two from my easy chair, the good old Voltaire, my maternal grandfather sat on at sunset after seeing his last patient and readied himself for the daily and ritualistic rosary, a polyphonic affair, each participant (at one time over fifteen, master, his brood, servants and poske taken together) at his/her own pitch, cadence and style of delivery.

Being a weekday (15.9.00) and the number of tasks on my agenda quite daunting, I thought I would save time, as I often do, and read the daily papers while in the loo, another convenient seat to take stock of yesterday’s happenings. My bowels just refused to move. The news was depressing.

There was an on-going case before Public Men’s Corruption (Investigations & Enquiries) Commission created by the regime that preceded Sardinha’s, but of which he was, nevertheless, an integral component, (being, as he then was, a senior cabinet minister), against, amongst others, the present deputy chief minister Dayanand Narvekar, and his brother Subhash Narvekar, at the time president of the Mapusa Municipal Council.

Dayanand Narvekar was let off as the charges were not supported by evidence. But despite the best, if not particularly brilliant, efforts of government advocates to rescue Subhash Narvekar from the jaws of law, the Commission ( C F Alvares and G U Bhobe; the Commission has been working for months without a presiding officer, Justice Gustavo Couto remaining unreplaced since his retirement) held Subhash guilty. The commission members were “of the considered opinion that there was financial benefit secured by Narvekar in collusion with the contractor”. He had “flagrantly” flouted law and procedure. The commission was equally vehement and severe in its view of government advocates, whose duty was to prosecute the case, but, instead, (I quote), “had developed cold feet with the brother of Subhash having become a cabinet minister in the government which itself had referred the matter.” What had the prosecutors pleaded_ The “government had made the reference to the Commission without applying its mind”. The commission was upset that government counsel had only “called a few selected witnesses”. Hence, the commission concluded that the advocate “was bent on demolishing the reference despite warnings from the Commission”. In fact, the advocate had “insisted that he was doing it on instructions” (from the Sardinha government, we presume).

What do we, citizens, make of it_ That the CM, when writing his weekend column, does not, really, mean his words_ Or, that current political compulsions are such that he had to go back on his principles and , in the process, expose himself to public ridicule_

XXX

While in Delhi, a few days back, a news item caught my attention. Goa Transport department officials were at the heart of a major racket. Automobiles were bought on installments all over India, the first few months the buyers were very prompt, then the default began. The financiers could not act – at least for some time – because the buyers’ identities, meanwhile, had been faked. So, too, the registration plates and papers, the latter part of the racket aided and abetted by officials from two states: Goa and Madhya Pradesh. The cars which had been found were collectively valued at Rs.20/- (twenty) crore but that might well be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

At another level of malfeasance, “Goa,” a Supreme Court advocate would tell me, “is quite simply unbeatable”. Goa had generated almost 90% of the case law in the matter of political defections. No other state had more instances than Goa of politicians defecting from the party on whose agenda they had stood and won, to any other party (even if they had, not so long ago, branded it in their campaigns as corrupt and incompetent) if a cabinet position was dangled or, in lieu, offers of matching the financial benefits were made.

One legislator changed loyalties from MGP, to Congress, to the short-lived PDF, back to Congress, to NCP, to UGDP, back to Congress, now again out of Congress, but, if hearing is believing, is on his way back to Congress. At the moment, he holds the record, but, perhaps, not for long… Neck-and-neck is another worthy and the third runner-up is not far behind.

The question is: how and why are they elected to public office by an electorate that, to all appearances, has a vested interest in a clean and efficient governance_ I had a clue before, but obtained a near confirmation the other day. A dissident of a particular party slipped into his shirt pocket a mini-tape recorder to register the goings on at a tumultuous party meeting when some of the “people’s representatives” were going to give the reasons for their dissent and walk out. Unfortunately, the man mishandled the very delicate eaves-dropping equipment. If not, you would have before you a very revealing transcript. But some bits and pieces give one an idea. One man’s fishing boats and nets had been neglected, his bank liabilities were going up and up, they had crossed Rs.25 lakh, he needed every month Rs.1,30,000 to keep nose above water and his camp followers in moderate comfort. Another worthy had been so preoccupied with politics that his “gas (which gas one wonders) plant” had lost Rs. 45 lakh. A third was eyeing tourism. He estimated that the starred hotels would, at the very least, shell out Rs.10,000 to Rs. 15,000 every month to each of “his boys” (sons_ sycophants_ body guards_ whatever….). An elderly man, who himself is above reproach, felt that “their gorzo” were “genuine”. The same man had, only some time back, corrected me when Luizinho Faleiro was the chief minister. I had told Luizinho that his supporters in a particular municipal council were extorting money. Luizinho wanted “evidence”. I had none. He asked me to, at least, name the persons and the figures. I did. The honest old man, sensitive to younger politicians’ gorzo, who was present, promptly corrected me, very tersely at that. It wasn’t Rs. 40 lakh as I had heard. “It was, take it from me”, he said knowledgeably, “just ten lakhs”. Was he sure_ He had witnessed the deal, he proudly owned. “Politics is not what you think”, he admonished me. Social work is what politics is all about. It costs a lot and is delivered gift-wrapped.

Let us hope we’ll soon have the listening device repaired. And a more reliable handler. If nothing else, we’ll have lots of fun. If “fun” is the appropriate word for the on-going auction of Goa on the pretext of genuine gorzo.

Correction: In this column last month, the opening word in the fourth para should have read ‘Reforming’ and not ‘Reinforcing’. Also, there was some jumbling of lines due to a technical problem.

- Editor

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