POLL BONDS BARRED
THE Supreme Court has held that the election bonds issued by State Bank of India are illegal. The SC has held that anonymous donations by companies are illegal. Companies will expect favours in return for funding elections. The SC has asked the Election Commission to publish details of corporate political donations. Needless to say the ruling party of the BJP will be the worst affected.
MPT ARM-TWISTING
CHIEF Minister Pramod Sawant has come down on the BJP Vasco MLA Sankalp Amonkar. Amonkar is reported to have extorted money from transporters of leading corporates importing through MPT. The Aditya Birla group has imported bauxite for making aluminium. Over Rs15 crore worth of imports were held up the MPT. Major importers were planning to shift out of the Mormugoa Port Trust.This was primarily due to political pressure from Amonkar. The CM has intervened and said nobody can interfere with business at the port.
ASHOK CHAVAN FOR RS
ASHOK Chavan, senior communist leader who resigned from the Congress in Maharashtra has been given the Rajya Sabha ticket. This is a quick reward for Chavan. Sonia Gandhi will not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections. She has been nominated for Rajya Sabha. The BJP has refused to nominate seven present ministers. It’s expected that Priyanka Gandhi will contest the Rae Bareilly seat. The Congress had denied tickets to dissident Congressman Kamalnath.
MUSTIFUND SUPREME!
THE topper in the IIT Entrance exam is from Mustifund in Panaji. He scored 99.5%. All the other eight who passed the IIT GEE are also from Mustifund. The Mustifund stands for a handful of rice. This is how donations were collected to start the school in Goa, its chairman is none other than the visionary niz Goenkar businessman Anil Khaunte.
ARAMBOL BUILDINGS DEMOLISHED
THE high court bench of Bombay in Goa has ordered the demolition of commercial structures in Arambol beach village. It has been discovered that there are a hundred illegal commercial buildings here and now several beachside resorts are awaiting the bulldozer to set an example for others who may be waiting to break the coastal regulation law.
SMART FARMERS PROTEST!
THE protesting farmers outside Delhi are using home-grown weapons to take on the government’s drones used by the centre to maintain surveillance on them. The farmers are experts using kite strings of manja strings used for flying kites in the wind, these are glass coated and very deadly when it comes to cutting objects and bring them down to earth. The farmers have come to Delhi in their tractors. Last time they spent a year fighting the government for their demand of fair prices for their produce. They insist that the Narendra Modi government has not done anything for them. The protest comes just before the Lok Sabha elections.
NEW ABU DHABI TEMPLE!
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has taken to temples diplomacy in a big way. Now on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 he went off to participate in the inauguration of the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj perfomed the consecration rites in the presence of Modi and Minister of Tolerance & Coexistence for the UAE, Crown Prince Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan (who has gifted the 27 acres of land for the temple. This is part of Modi’s success with the Islamic countries. Modi claims temples are the shared heritage of humanity. A large number of Indians work in the Gulf countries and have homes there. We may expect pilgrimage trips soon to Abu Dhabi to pay respects to the Lord Krishna. The mandir has built by the Swaminarayan Sanstha and has been inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Reportedly, this is the first Hindu traditional mandir to undergo complete digital modelling and seismic simulation.
GOVERNOR PILLAI FOR KAAVI ART
GOVERNOR of Goa PS Sreedharan Pillai has taken a real shine to Goa’s traditional art form called kaavi and called for its revival and enrichment. He called this traditional technique of painting as Art Heritage, he was speaking after inaugurating a 4-day Kaavi Art Workshop organised by the Raj Bhavan Goa at new Durbar Hall in capital city Panaji on February 14, 2024. First Lady K Rita Sreedharan Pillai also graced the occasion along with MLA Digamber Kamat, MRM Rao (IAS, Secretary to Governor), R. Mihir Vardhan (IAS, Retd, Special Officer to Governor), Sanjeev Sardessai (historian) and Sagar Naik Mule, the Kaavi artist.
Governor Pillai further appreciated the initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who encouraged such traditional art forms in his monthly program Mann-Ki-Baat. Kaavi art may be seen in the temples, churches and some heritage homes of Goa which the governor has been visiting. Former chief minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, praised the governor for being a people’s governor and setting a precedent for others to emulate.
PROTECT CHILDREN FROM ONLINE GAMING!
AT an event taking place at the India Habitat Center in New Delhi Peter F Borges, chairperson of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, called for protecting children from the evils of online gaming. The National Conference on Child Rights and Well-being in Online Gaming and eSports in India was organized by CyberPeace Foundation and UNICEF and it brought together experts and stakeholders concerned about the impact of online gaming on young people.
Other panel speakers included Dhruv Garg of the All-India Gaming Federation, Nisheeth Dixit, Advocate, Cyber, Supreme Court; Aditi Singh Tomar, Operational Manager, Dream Esports, India; and Adv Khushboo Jain, Director-Legal & Compliance, Data Protection Officer at Fintech- India and MENA.
Borges highlighted the prevalence of issues such as verbal harassment, cyberbullying, and sexual exploitation within online gaming communities, emphasizing on their detrimental impact on children’s mental and emotional well-being. He concluded by calling for prioritizing child protection in the regulation of online gaming.
NEW FERRY BOATS!
MINISTER for River Navigation Subhash Phal Dessai pressed into service two new ferry boats at Ferry Point, Panaji on February 10, 2024. The ferries will be operational on Divar-Old Goa and Chorao-Ribandar routes. Speaking on the occasion the minister said that the newly added ferry boats — namely Mhadai PNG 967 and Doodhsagar PNG 968 — in the fleet of River Navigation will facilitate speedy and smooth movement for commuters who depend on waterways transport in Goa. He said the department will be launching new Ro-Ro ferry boats service on a pilot basis in the next seven months. The boats will have ramps on two sides to facilitate vehicles and commuters for boarding and de-boarding at the same time. At present RND has 18 waterways ferry routes and 35 ferry boats in its fleet to cater to the needs of commuters. Present were MLA-Kumbharjua Rajesh Faldessai, MLA-Saligao Kedar Naik, MLA-Mayem Premendra Shet, RND Captain of Port and HOD Vikas Gaunekar, RND Superintendent Vikram Raje Bhosale and other officers.
VMSCL MOOT COURT WINNER IS CHRIST UNIVERSITY (BENGALURU)
CHRIST University Bengaluru emerged victorious in the second edition of the Justice GD Kamat Memorial National Moot Court Competition 2024, organised by VM Salgaocar College of Law (VMSCL). The valedictory ceremony took place on February 11, 2024 with Justice Mahesh S Sonak, the sitting judge of the High Court of Goa at Bombay who was the chief guest.
The event took place in at Z Square Banquets in Panaji and amongst the audience were dignitaries VMSCL Principal Dr Shaber Ali G, Vice President of VMSCL Management Committee DSES Bhaskar Nayak, Trustee of GD Kamat Charitable Trust Dinar Bhatkar, Faculty coordinators Dr KS Rao and Priyanka Shet and student coordinator Riddhi Moghe.
The final round was judged by Justice Bharat Pandurang Deshpande, Justice Avinash Pundalik Lavande and Justice Utkarsh Vishvanath Bakre, for which Christ University Bengaluru was adjudged the winner, and R V Institute of Legal Studies Bengaluru emerged as the runners-up. The winning team comprised Nirih Kamplimath, Pratham Baliga and Prakriti Thakur and they got the price of Rs50,000; runners-up, comprising Manoj M, Tanniru Venata Saran and Rakshit R received the award of Rs25,000 with trophies and merit certificates. Special awards were conferred on Best Mooter, which due a tie, went to Ardhya Dixit of KES Jayantilal H Patel Law College (Mumbai) and Aditi Singh of Maharashtra National University (Nagpur), Best Researcher, which was secured by Meenakshi Remesh from Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. They were awarded cash prizes of Rs15,000 and Rs10,000, respectively. The Maharashtra National Law University Nagpur won the Best Memorial with prize money of 15,000.
In his valedictory address Justice Sonak praised all participants for displaying excellence throughout the competition, he also urged all the students to embrace reading since it will help them in their legal career. VMSCL organised this competition in collaboration with the Justice GD Kamat Charitable Trust, which witnessed the participation of 24 teams representing prestigious institutions nationwide.