STRATEGY: Despite strong objection from all niz Goenkars Chief Minister Pramod Sawant seems to be determined to go ahead with the Bhumiputra bill. Both Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate and the Revenue Secretary have strongly objected to the bill which was rushed through in the last session of the Legislative Assembly

By Rajan Narayan

The Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill is aimed at neutralizing the vote banks of politicians like Babush Monserrate and Mauvin Godinho. If the migrants can get their encroachments legalized, they will be less dependent on the bosses of the vote banks.

FOR a while it appeared as if Chief Minister Pramod Sawant would drop the Bhoomiputra Adhikarini bill. But it now appears that the new Bhoomiputra bill is the primary weapon in the BJP armoury to retain power in the State. The BJP has realized that migrants now form between 40 and 45 percent of the population of Goa. That there are several Congress MLAs who keep getting elected because of their systematic cultivation of the migrant vote banks. This involves a lot of money.
It is not enough to distribute goodies during election time. The slum lords have to maintain their relationship with the bhoomiputra throughout the tenure of their membership of the Legislative Assembly. The most notorious example of this kind of politics has been set by Panaji MLA Atanasio Babush Monserrate. He has dramatized that he doesn’t require political parties or their tickets to win an election.
On the contrary it is the other way round. Political parties are competing with each other for his support. This is because time and again Babush has proved that he can get elected from any constituency on any party ticket. Starting with the United Goans, Babush joined the Congress and he was wooed very ardently by the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Indeed, the BJP owes its ability to hold on to power, thanks to Babush Monserrate.

MONSERRATE’S ASSISTANCE

PARRIKAR would never have become the chief minister of Goa or retained the post without the help of Babush Monserrate. It may be recalled that way back in 2002 Babush not only quit his seat as a Congress MLA and got himself re-elected on the BJP ticket, he got four other Congress MLAs to follow his example. But for Babush’s switchover to the BJP, the Parrikar government would have collapsed.
Later Manohar Parrikar moved to Delhi as the defence minister. When he became defence minister his Panjim seat fell vacant and he had virtually pleaded with Babush not to contest against his close confidant Siddharth Kunkolienkar. Then Parrikar came back to local politics again and Babush Monserrate obliged him by keeping out of the fray in Panjim.
Much later with Parrikar’s departure, Babush’s allegience to the BJP had changed. Unlike during Parrikar’s time when his word was law, the Satish Dhond-dominated BJP is unlikely to give Babush a ticket, let alone the three tickets he wants for himself, wife and son. In addition Babush wants his confidants to be given the tickets in all the Tiswadi constituencies which include Panaji, Taleigao, Santa Cruz, St Andre, Cumburjua.
Never mind that Uday Madkaikar, former mayor of Panjim, recently announced he is parting from the Babush group and is going to contest against Babush in the forthcoming elections come February 2022. Babush Monserrate has of course dismissed Uday Madkaikar’s announcement with contempt. Although he has also been reported to have commented that in a democracy everyone has a right to contest on any party ticket they wanted.

WHO SUPPORTS WHOM?

BUT what is crucial is would the people support a candidate, any candidate? Ultimately, Babush draws his confidence from the fact that he has been implementing his own version of the Bhoomiputra bill for the last two decades. Babush pays for the education of the children of the migrant community and particularly Muslim migrants, who now form his significant vote bank in capital city Panaji. He has also started his own school where of course you don’t need any documents to get admission. Unlike government recognized schools which ask for a variety of certificates like birth certificate, Aadar cards, ration cards, etc.
For the magician from Taleigao getting these papers for his vote bank is a simple task. It has become even easier now that his wife Jennifer Monserrate is the minister for revenue. The Revenue department controls the office of the Collector and the Mamlatdar. It is the Collectorate which issues ration cards, domicile certificates, etc. With the City of the Corporation of Panaji and the Taleigao Panchayat also controlled by Babush and Jennifer Monserrate, getting birth certificates is not a problem even the migrants concerned were born in Orissa or Jharkhand.
Niz Goenkars have been complaining about migrants changing their names to get government benefits. But Babush Monserrate plays a different ball game and can fabricate documents for his vote banks, and all the officials have no choice but to dance to his tune.
Admittedly, there are other migrant lords like Mauvin Godinho who controls Zuari Nagar and Rudolph Fernandes who controls Chimbel, not to mention Digambar Kamat who is the godfather of Muslim-dominated Moti Dongor which means big hill of slums down south Goa.
But nobody looks upon politics as cold-bloodedly as Babush Monserrate does. Babush is not a politician. He is a political businessman. Babush looks at the rate of return on his investments. Unlike other migrant patriarchs Babush is willing to open out his purse strings. He is willing to spend any amount of money to achieve his objective. The latest instance is that of purchasing bicycles for Nepali women migrants to ensure his group’s victory in the Municipal elections in 2020. Male migrants were given bikes.
But Babush only pays the first instalment of bikes before the election. Only if he gets elected and wins and he is convinced his beneficiaries voted for him, he pays the balance instalments. The question is how does Babush recoup what he has spent? The answer is very simple.

TALEIGAO MODEL

GOING by the Taleigao model the biggest source of revenue is real estate. But to facilitate the building of gated colonies and sky-scrapers there has to be access. Unlike other politicians Babush does not depend on the government to build roads. With or without permission he gets broad roads built merrily through paddy fields. And this in turn facilitates the requirements of the booming construction industry.
It may be recalled that there was a time when all the buildings down the Dona Paula-Miramar beach bypass were only two or three-storeys high. It is thanks to Babush that the buildings here started soaring into the sky. This is because Babush is also the chairman of the Panjim PDA and Taleigao PDA which decides the floor area ratio. Which determines how many storeys you can build on a plot of land. The landmark building Shalom was only five storeys at one time. Just before a crucial election it was given permission to add three more floors with each floor allegedly fetching Babush big returns in cash or kind. Virtually every building on the Dona Paula-Miramar beach bypass has a flat or even the penthouse for him. I recall that when Margaret Alva was the High Command Observer of the Congress party, Babush lent his Shalom penthouse for her to occupy while she was the High Command Observer.
The BJP is hoping that by passing the Bhoomiputra Adhikarini Bill it will undermine the base of politicians like Babush Monserrate. If this bill is passed migrants encroaching on government, communidade or private land will have their encroachments legalised. Only thing is that Pramod Sawant has cut so many corners in drafting the bill that it will not be able to stand up to judicious scrutiny. Fortunately, our courts are still relatively honest and will not sanction blatant illegalities.