By Sriraj Singhania
Laxmikant Pareskar submitted his resignation to the Governor as the Goan community voted against the BJP party. It won as few as only 13 seats out of 40 in the State election. A few days later, Manohar Parrikar was sworn in as the new CM of Goa.
Welcome to the Great Indian Political (read: Laughter) Challenge.
THE GREAT BETRAYAL
The recent happenings in Goa have simply made a mockery of the Indian Democracy. The people of Goa voted against the ruling party i.e BJP but then through a slew of clever strategies and by using its money and muscle power, it managed to form the government yet again.
BJP which rode the election campaign on the adage,” A party with a difference ” has proved that it’s no different to the others and is rather the biggest fish of the stinking cartel out there.
People have openly expressed their resentment with #NotMyCM slogans reverberating in the streets of Panaji. One of the placards read,
“You can’t force your government on us. We voted for freedom from BJP “
It is baffling to witness that the very leaders against whom the Goans were done with will rule over them once again. No wonder it is a testament to the fact that the greed of power overpowers the will of the people and the people of Goa have a right to vent their anger at such a sorry state of affairs in their state.
GAME OF NUMBERS
Let us understand the game of numbers that BJP played to perfection in the aftermath of the election results.
BJP secured the second position with 13 seats out of 40 seats while the Congress sniffed past it with 17 seats emerging as the largest party. One had to garner the support of at least 21 MLA’s to stake a claim to form the government.
BJP played the Trump card and trumped Congress, with 3 MLA’s from Goa Forward Party, 3 from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and two independents extended their support to BJP on the condition that Manohar Parrikar was to named as the Chief Ministerial candidate.
Without a second’s thought, our Defence Minister gave in his resignation, returned to Goa and passed the floor test.
The irony lies in the fact that the Goa Forward Party was established on the lines of Anti – BJP principles. It’s leader, Vijay Sardesai has been a staunch critic of the saffron party.
It performed considerably well in the election on the backdrop of such a stance. Joining hands with Amit Shah has indeed angered its supporters and raised many eyebrows. The President of GFP has already resigned and the famous cardiologist, Dr. Francisco Colaco who was a supporter of GFD has called the alliance as a meeting of devils and the greatest betrayal of all times.
PRECEDENTS
The Congress Party has called it unconstitutional on the ground that a Governor is bound by law to invite the single largest party/ group to form the government which happens to be Congress in this case.
But there has been precedents to prove it wrong. In 2005, BJP had won 30 out of 81 seats in Jharkhand yet the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, Shri Shibu Soren with a support of 17 MLAs of his Party plus other independents and MLA’s of other parties who had pledged support to him was invited to form the Government.
Similar situations had taken place in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi in 2002 and 2013 respectively.
The BJP had every right to turn the tide in its favor by aligning with pre-poll enemies. It has pipped Congress to the throne.
But as a democracy, are we heading towards the right direction where defections and alliances determine the result? A democracy where the enemy of one’s enemy is a friend? A democracy where horse trading is considered a fair play?
In such turbulent times, the words of Abraham Lincoln should definitely echo in our head,
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”
Image Credits: Google Images
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