In the last 50 years Goa has seen 27 Governors. We may not have had Mr. N.D.Tiwari but the Governors at Goa Raj Bhavan will all be remembered for various right and wrong reasons.
In 1972 we had Mr. S.K.Banerji whose wife Gauri used to be driven to the Panjim Market with all the fruit and vegetables from Raj Bhavan, then known as Cabo Raj Niwas. The First Lady remained seated in the car waiting for the money while the driver sold the produce at the Panaji market. In 1991 we had the flamboyant Mr. Bhanu Prakash Singh who gained notoriety for the manner of dismissing and swearing in Chief Ministers. In 1998 we had Lt. Gen. J. F. R. Jacob who will be remembered for his outstanding service in streamlining the administration of the State during that spell of President’s rule of which many still have nostalgic memories. We then had Mr. S.C Jamir who went out of the way to save Father Newton Rodrigues from being charge sheeted for allegedly molesting a 13 year old Ribandar girl. And now the out going Dr. S.S.Sidhu will be remembered for being India’s only Governor to refuse to comply with an Act for transparency and accountability enacted by Parliament, the Right to Information Act. He has claimed that he is not a Public Authority. A verdict on this is expected from the Bombay High Court at Goa anytime now. Interestingly, Governor Sidhu’s five year term as Governor had ended in August 2009. However, he managed to hang on at Goa Raj Bhavan for over two further years. Was it his proximity to Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh or the Turban connection, God alone knows? As Dr Sidhu departs we now have Mr. Kateekal Sankaranarayanan as our part-time Governor while he holds fort as Maharastra Governor too. It would be interesting to see the approach the Goa Raj Bhavan now takes on the Right to Information Act. The Maharastra Raj Bhavan is complying with the RTI act. So Governor Sankaranarayanan may not be able to take a stand that as Governor he is a Public Authority in Maharastra and not one in Goa. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372
