Odious Ordinance BY VINAYAK NAIK
Is the Digambar Kamat government for the aam aadmi or the daam aadmi? That is the doubt dominant in the minds of the indigent section of the Goan hoi polloi, in the wake of the series of affluent-friendly measures taken by this government ever since coming to power. The latest instance is the odious Land Acquisition Ordinance, which is, on the face of it, expressly designed to safeguard the interests of some people, wallowing in wealth. The Ordinance, fashioned furiously fast, seeks to legitimise the illegalities of these 'sophisticated elements' who are seemingly ‘extra special’ not only to the government but to the Opposition as well. No question about it, the Ordinance is an extraordinary government initiated ‘bail-out’ operation - quite possibly, sans parallel, in the annals of Indian Legislation. The celerity with which the Ordinance was ‘railroaded’ in the Assembly gave the Government-Opposition-Combine’s game away. Yes, it was very obvious that the Opposition and the Ruling Coalition were acting in unison on the issue of passing the opprobrious ordinance. Else, it wouldn’t have seen the incredibly smooth passage it got in the House. In fact, we have seen in the past the Opposition in Goa play up even non-issues in an attempt to kayo the Congress-led government. And here was a major issue on which it could have justifiably done so, but it uncharacteristically chose to stay its hand. If one couldn’t smell a rat in all that, then one’s olfactory system is just not functioning! The Opposition Leader had vowed to drive the government into a corner in the Assembly during the debate on the Ordinance. But what we saw in the House was just otherwise. Parrikar and company didn’t appear to have put up even what could be described as a token resistance to the proposed legislation. No, I was not present in the House whilst the Ordinance was being deliberated upon, but watched the action - move by move - ‘live’ on television , thanks to our local channels. The proceedings of the House appeared to have been ‘fixed’ from the word ‘go’, with everyone, except two, desperately wanting to see the Ordinance through. Yes, with the exception of Laxmikant Parsekar (the Mandrem MLA), all the Opposition MLAs, instead of packing punches, were seen pulling them. Shameful indeed! From the Congress side, Victoria Fernandes went up in my esteem by several notches for speaking her mind and making her utter disapproval of the Ordinance known, loud and clear. What was hilarious was the manner in which the Ordinance obtained the vote of the House, with the Speaker making a near-subsonic pronouncement, “ayes have it, ayes have it”, despite the inaudibly subdued chorus of both ‘ayes’ and ‘nays’. How the Speaker could fathom a higher decibel-level in the ‘ayes’ is beyond my understanding. Ordinarily, Parrikar would have been up on his feet in a flash, raucously crying foul. But, the other day, he was in no mood to do that. My! My! What is one to make of that? If any issue merited seeking a ‘division’ in the House, this was it. That it was not done, confirms how immutably ‘undivided’ the Congress and the Opposition stood vis-à-vis the Ordinance. Mark you, my saying all this should in no way be interpreted as my lack of concern about the would be plight of the ‘demolition-facing hotel’s’ workers. To address that problem, the government ought to have sought a sympathetic re-consideration by the Supreme Court of its ‘demolition order’, instead of trying to reverse it through the perverse issuance of an Ordinance. Incensed by the State government’s skulduggery, the Supreme Court has, understandably, stymied the Ordinance from becoming operational. Which means, in effect, the Supreme Court has put paid to the Digambar government’s defiant attempt to overturn its ruling. Incidentally, it has me wondering as to why this government, which swears by the aam aadmi, is fighting shy of getting the Centre to issue a similar ordinance to negate the inadvertent violations committed by the benighted lot of Goa’s coastal dwelling aam aadmi? How come, the government’s heart doesn’t bleed when it comes to razing down the dwellings of these hapless beings, who are virtually on the wrong side of the breadline? It’s crystal clear that the government becomes a strict upholder of the Law only when it comes to dealing with the necessitous, but has no scruples at all in becoming a ‘scofflaw’ to come to the rescue of those financially on a roll. Preaching the mantra of aam, while practising the one of daam - that’s just what it is! --------- The editorial above appeared in the April 2009 issue of Goa Today magazine. Editor-in Chief, Vinayak Naik, can be contacted at <vinayaknaik59 at rediffmail dot com> =====
