By Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Calangute MLA Michael Lobo is likely to be inducted into the cabinet of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. For a Saturday following the week when there’s increasing confrontation between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and TCP Minister Vishwajit ane. For a Saturday following the week when the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got much needed relief following the disclosure of the two very young girls around four years old who were molested in a private school in Badlapur. For a Saturday following the week when the Central government cancelled the proposal for lateral entry into the top levels of the bureaucracy.
AND a few stray thoughts on Michael Lobo, the Calangute MLA, who is likely to be inducted into the cabinet of Pramod Sawant. It’s only the crying baby which gets milk in our political system. Michael and Delilah Lobo have been making a lot of noise in the last few days. Michael has been insisting that there is something wrong with the functioning of the government. Michael expressed regret over the government withdrawing the amendment to the Town & Country Planning Act. Meanwhile, Delilah Lobo has stepped up her campaign against sound pollution in the Anjuna and Vagator belt.
Nightclubs and restaurants in the area play loud music all through the night. The police no longer listen to Delilah or Michael. The police have been unwilling to crack down on loud music after 10 pm. Delilah led a morcha to the Anjuna police station demanding action on her complaints.
Suddenly, the Calangute and Siolim MLAs started targeting the chief minister. All political parties in the country believe in appeasement. Cabinet reshuffling is undertaken not to sack non-performing ministers and bring in new blood. Pramod Sawant has to walk a tightrope as he is dependent on the rebel Congress MLAs for survival. The chief minister cannot ignore Michael and Delilah either.
Besides Michael Lobo, there is a strong likelihood that the Margao MLA Digambar Kamat will be inducted into the Cabinet. I understand that Pramod Sawant is all set to drop the controversial Minister for Culture Govind Gaude the minister for culture. Govind Gaude who has been under fire for the Kala Academy renovation scams. Subhash Phaldesai is paying the price for ignoring the BJP president Sadanant Tanavade. The two ministers Govind Gaude and Subhash Phaldesai will have to move to accommodate Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat.
The chief minister has admitted that he is planning to make changes in the cabinet. We understand that Pramod Sawant had sought permission to drop controversial Town & Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane. This was however refused. Pramod Sawant will now use Michael Lobo to take on Vishwajit, not surprisingly Michael’s close friend Babush Monserrate has supported his induction into the Cabinet.

INCREASING CONFRONTATION
AND a few stray thoughts on the increasing confrontation between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Town & Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane. The CM claims that the TCP bill has been withdrawn because the bill was not properly drafted and done in a hurry. The Minister for Law Alexio Sequeira has passed on the buck to Vishwajit. Alexio claims that he was under pressure from Vishwajit to clear the bill.
The TCP amendment moved by Vishwajit Rane sought to remove conversions from the jurisdiction of the courts. This effectively meant that decisions by the TCP could not be challenged in any court of law. The very notion that the courts cannot question decisions by the government is faulty
The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has repeatedly warned TCP against illegal conversions. The TCP Minister Vishwajit himself has admitted that over 900 cases of illegal conversion of orchards into settlements have taken place. In response to Pramod Sawant’s claim that the TCP bill was pulled back because he had flaws, Vishwajit insists it was taken back to strengthen it. Vishwajit claims that he had an MBA and he does not do things without reading properly. Withdrawal of the TCP bill even though the BJP has brute majority has came as a shock.
The CM however continues to insist that the bill has to be withdrawn because it is badly drafted. Vishwajit Rane has been projecting himself as the chief ministerial candidate in the 2027 assembly election. The BJP president JP Nadda is expected to visit Goa to sort out the differences in the revolt against Pramod Sawant.

MAMATA GETS RELIEF
AND a few stray thoughts on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee getting some relief following the disclosure that two very young girls around 4 years old were molested in a private school in Badlapur on August 18, 2024. Ever since the rape-murder case of the medical student Dr Moumita Debnath on August 9, the BJP is demanding the resignation of Mamata Banerjee. The electronic channels and particularly India Today have been painting Mamata blacker than black.
What has angered the citizens of Kolkata is the mob attack on the hospital for destroying evidence. The focus has now largely shifted to Maharashtra where Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is on the back foot. The molestation of the two young girls in Badlapur is embarrassing for the BJP. The school is run by a local BJP leader. The managing committee was dominated by BJP supporters.
What is common to both the Kolkata rape and murder and the Badlapur incident is the behavior of the police. As in the case of Kolkata, the Badlapur police filed an FIR only 12 hours after the incident. The little girls told their parents about the incident. The parent promptly approach the police. They were not willing to accept the complaint as they were under the pressure of the school management.
It is only when the people of Badlapur took to the streets that the Shinde government started to take action. The Badlapur protestors sat on the railway tracks disrupting the traffic of local trains. Badlapur, which was a sleepy small town, has developed very rapidly in the last decade. With the pressure on Thane, all new development is focused on Badlapur. Just as Mamata is claiming that the Opposition is responsible for the protests against her, the Maharashtra CM Shinde is also blaming the Congress and the NCP.
Next to hospitals, schools particularly, primary schools, are very vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Innocent children are very often too frightened to tell their parents what happened to them. In this case, the two brave kids told their parents that the sweeper in the school had stripped them and felt their private parts. The parents promptly lodged a criminal complaint which was not registered by the police. It is clear that the police act under political pressure and are not sympathetic when it comes to sexual crimes.

DIRECT RECRUITMENT
AND a few stray thoughts on the Central government cancelling the proposal for lateral entry into the top levels of bureaucracy. The Modi government has decided that there would be direct recruitment of specialists at the level of secretary or director in the government. This was meant for the absence of specialists in the Indian administrative cadre.
Though the working of the government has been digitalized many of the senior babu have no understanding of computers. Many of them do not have the background to take decisions on offers of foreign investment in the country. Many multinationals including Apple and Google want to shift their manufacturing facilities from China to India. The Tata’s are in the process of making a huge factory in Hosur in Tamil Nadu. The factory which will make Apple Pro phones on contract will hire 20,000 people.
While foreign investment should be welcome they come with strings of tests. Apple for instance has demanded that no GST or import duties should be levied on Made in India products. Historically the role of the IAS is to maintain law and order and collect revenue. Over the decades the role of the IAS officer has extended to running public sector companies and taking decision on sensitive matters like band width allocation to telecoms. There was a huge wave of protests against the UPSC advertisements inviting applications for lateral entry. The primary objection was that there was no scope for reservations in this post.
Not just the Congress but Alliance partners of the BJP objected. Indeed, the Bharat Bandh call has been given by the scheduled caste tribes and other backward classes. The Modi government was forced to withdraw the proposal of the lateral entry and withdraw the UPSC advertising.

MORJIM JANMASHTMI
AND a last stray thought on a Morjim resort holding a Janmashtmi breaking and handi competition. No harm in that except that they were offering two pints of beer free for everyone who takes part. The Hindu Jana Jagruthi has protested that it is a violation of Indian culture. We understand that a case has been filed against the resort.
Handi-breaking events have become big business in Maharashtra. They are being aggressively promoted by the Eknath Shinde government. Like the IPL matches various corporates have been asked to sponsor the handi-breaking teams. Over 64 teams have enrolled. The preliminary rounds are being held in Thane and the final will be held at the national stadium in Varli.