FAMILY: BJP not willing to perpetuate Babush Atanasio Monserrate dynasty in Goa like Gandhi dynasty in Delhi!

BY RAJAN NARAYAN

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when all political parties were busy stealing each other’s candidates. For a Saturday following the week when Babush Monserrate strung up flags all over Taleigao-Caranzalem as a sign of submission to Amit Shah’s open threat. For a Saturday following the week when the Trinamool Congress has started focusing on the mining areas of north Goa to revive farming. For a Saturday following the week when it appears as though Covid-19 pandemic is a creation of IT companies. For a Saturday following the week when after a long gap I return to my sasumai’s house, the GMC!

PARTY HOPPING

AND a few stray thoughts on political parties grabbing MLAs and party workers from each other. The TMC in a major press conference at the International Centre Goa displayed their latest catch. The latest to join the TMC is Prasad Gaonkar, independent MLA from Sanguem. Not just Prasad but his brother Sandesh too resigned from Congress and joined the Goa TMC in the presence of the TMC’s MP Derick O Brien. Prasad Gaonkar, who is a leading tribal leader, will join the TMC only after the term of the Legislative Assembly ends. Elvis Gomes who quit AAP to join Congress claimed that several AAP workers have joined the Congress. The BJP in in turn claimed that it had been able to get Congress leaders to join them. But there are also fears that many of the Catholic Congress MLAs who defected to the BJP will not get tickets to contest the upcoming LA elections. Michael Lobo has openly expressed concern that he may not be given a ticket by the BJP. This is despite his discussions with visiting Home Minister Amit Shah. The greatest fear of the BJP is that Babush Monserrate may jump defense. For the BJP it is Babush who represents its biggest problem.
The BJP has a rule that not more than one member of a family may be given a ticket to contest elections. President of the BJP J P Nadda has repeatedly stated that the BJP is against political dynasties as it would be accused of behaving like the Gandhi family. Babush, who already controls two constituencies, Taleigao represented by his wife Jennifer and Panaji represented by himself, now wants the St Cruz seat for his son Rohit Monserrate.

AMIT WON’T BAND

AND a few stray thoughts on Babush Monserrate putting up BJP flags and banners showing himself, wife Jennifer and son Rohit, alongside Amit Shah and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. This would suggest that Babush will not compromise on the BJP party tickets for his wife Jennifer and son Rohit. We understand that the primary reason for Amit Shah’s visit to Goa is to confront Babush. Unlike other BJP leaders in the State and the Centre, Amit Shah is allegedly a much bigger goonda than Babush! We understand that he will not accept the demands of Babush for tickets for Jennifer and Rohit. On the contrary Babush may be asked to go back to his old seat of Taleigao.
The BJP is under pressure to put up the elder son of the late Manohar Parrikar as candidate for Panaji Constituency. This is to prevent Subhash Velingkar, former RSS chief, from persuading Utpal Parrikar to contest on the Goa Suraksha Manch ticket, the GSM is the party formed by the former State RSS chief. There is no hope for poor Siddharth Kunkolienkar to get ticket to contest from Panaji. The Congress has managed to persuade Surendra Furtado to stay with the party on the promise of being given the Panaji ticket.

VIJAI DURGA FAN

AND a few stray thoughts that on the continued confusion within the Congress over an alliance with the Goa Forward Party. During the 2017 elections the Goa Forward led by Vijai Sardessai, had an agreement with former chief minister Digambar Kamat. Vijai Sardesai was willing to extend support to Digambar Kamat to form a Congress government after it won the largest number of 17 seats in the assembly. But the then GPCC president, Luizinho Faleiro, wanted the CM’s post for himself. He sabotaged the alliance between Goa Forward and the Congress to form the government.
Now of course, Luizinho is claiming that it was Digvijay Singh, the High Command Observer who prevented him from staking his claim. The truth is known to everyone. Vijai Sardesai had no choice but to join the BJP as he was not willing to support Luizinho Faleiro. Vijai gave the excuse that his support was not for the BJP but the late Manohar Parrikar. There is some truth in this as Goa Forward withdrew support to BJP when Manohar Parrikar died and Pramod Sawant was appointed as CM. Now Vijai Sardesai is desperate to join the TMC. For the last few days he has been chanting about the power of Durga-didi, referring to Mamata Banerjee. But the TMC is not very confident about whether Vijai Sardesai might not desert them like he had double-crossed the Congress.

BJP NEED BABUSH

AND talking of the Monserrates, they are not worried about either the TMC or the BJP because they have enough money and muscle power to win elections on their own. Babush has dramatized that he can even get MLAs of the Congress to resign and get them re-elected on the BJP ticket. He did this to keep Manohar Parrikar in power in 2003, when he got Pandurang Madkaikar in Cumbhajua and Isadore Fernandes in Canacona to resign their Congress seats and got them re-elected on the BJP tickets. Babush is waiting to see if the BJP will or will not give tickets to his wife and son. Besides the other Congress defectors may also resign from the BJP.
But Amit Shah has a bigger weapon. Unfortunately for Babush he has many criminal cases pending against him. It will be recalled that Babush attacked the Panaji police station when some of his goons were arrested. Babush’s workers even beat up the women constable in the Panaji police station. The police at the Panaji police station had to lock the doors for fear of the mob which had come with Babush. There are also the alleged rape cases pending both against Babush and son Rohit Monserrate. Babush stands accused of molesting a minor girl and was even put in prison. Unfortunately, Manohar Parrikar and his protector, is no longer alive.
And Amit Shah is reportedly planning to threaten Babush with arrest by re-opening all the old criminal cases against him. Amit Shah has the reputation of being so coldly ruthless that he could even have Babush killed in a fake encounter. So this time the dadagiri of Babush may not work. Besides, Amit Shah has another reason for arresting Babush. Misusing his power as chairman of the PDA Babush Monserrate has permitted the construction of 10-storeyed building on the seaward side of the Dona Paula-Miramar beach by-pass road. Advertisements have already started appearing in the Times of India of a huge Milroc Complex next to Sea View Hotel facing he river beach of Miramar.
It was Babush who gave permission to the Jeep Showroom, which has grown into a four-storeyed building with the upper floors housing an eye hospital. Even without a free eye check-up everyone can see Babush’s hand in spoiling the beauty of the old Caranzalen beach. The Babush speciality is to build access roads for builders. Over the last weekend he built a broad road going down from new Taj Vivanta to Caranzalem beach. When a police complaint was filed and the CRZ authority objected, both AAP candidate Cecilia Rodrigues and Jennifer Monserrate got into the act of planting trees on the newly created road to the beach. In a confrontation Jennifer called Cecilia a bar dancer and Cecilia slapped the bodyguard of Jennifer. So fears of Babush Monserrate are varnishing and this time around both the people of Taleigao and Panaji, may send him, his wife and son, back home. He may not be given a ticket by any party and may spend the elections in jail.

PILLAI’S IMPROPRIETY!

AND few stray thoughts on all the newspapers on Thursday, October 14, 2021 carrying advertisements of Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant welcoming Amit Shah. The CM is free to do what he wants. But the governors are not supposed ot belong to any particular political party. The position of the governor is like that of the speaker, who after being appointed, are presumed to have said goodbye to their respective political loyalties. Governor and speaker have to be neutral according to the Constitution. That they may not be is another matter. Using Governor Pillai photograph in an advertisement is illegal and the governor should resign over this impertinence of being taken for granted.
It is like Prime Minister Narendra Modi putting his photograph on Covid-19 vaccination certificate. Even the UK government objected to this Modi photographs! Logically it is not Narendra Modi’s photo but the photo of the person who has been vaccinated whose photo should appear on the Cowin certificate. It is only after Modi agreed to drop his picture that the UK withdrew the order that Indians even after vaccination should be quarantined.

COVID-19 BENEFITS IT

AND a few stray thoughts on IT companies being the biggest beneficiaries of the Covid-19 pandemic. The profits of all the IT companies including Wipro, Infosys and TCS have gone up sharply. This is also true of other huge IT companies like Microsoft. This is because of the switch from a world of pen and paper to the digital world. The Indian IT companies TCS, Infosys and Wipro, have made the largest profits ever. During the pandemic a Bengaluru-based Mindtree has made a record profit of 34% in the last three months — $350 million. The rich have become much richer. The middle class have been reduced to the level of the migrant labor.
Interestingly, the recent Nobel prize winners for economics have shown that migrant workers do not affect the salaries of the locals. In many cases they may push up the salaries of the locals because they are more aggressive. They do not steal the jobs of the locals, according to the Nobel award-winning economists.

CATHETER LIKE HAND-CUFF!

AND a last stray thought on being back to my sasural. Which is the Goa Medical College & Hospital. Since I was beaten up in 1989 I have made at least 50 odd trips to the GMC. I have experienced a lot of pain. The doctors have treated me with great affection. However, there has always been the fear factor, as some of them know that I may write something about them in my Stray Thoughts comments here. This is my worst experience ever at the GMC. I cannot move more than one meter in any direction. My bladder has collapsed and I am strung on a catheter which a slim tube which passes through the penis with a balloon at one end.
The problem is that just as you cannot use your hand phone when the battery is low, similarly the battery in the pump inside my bladder which pumps out the urine, has got damaged. I do not know how many days I will have to live with a catheter which is a handicap to any movement. I feel like I am imprisoned by the catheter, like hand cuffs! I have however decided that after 10 days I will get them to remove the catheter to let me be free.
I have experienced enough sufferings in my life. I have lived for almost 75 years with integrity and honor. I do not want to be burden on my wife who is also in her 70s. And of course all my friends who used to ask me to speak to GMC doctors to get better treatment for themselves at some time or another, now have no time for me in my old age. Or perhaps it is that most of my friends are as old or more sick than I am. Both me and my wife are seen as bhumiputra! Unlike Goans we do not have family in Goa. So I am desperately looking for an attendant. If any of my readers and the hundreds who have responded to my Facebook post have any respect for me, they can either come and be attendant to me or ask their children. I know it won’t happen and I will have no choice but to get a trained attendant who may charge me as much as Rs20,000 per month. You have to pay for their lunch, dinner and their “Kop” (feni) also.