AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when the Congress and Rahul Gandhi suffered a major setback in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. For a Saturday following the week when a bail application on Subhash Velingkar was rejected by the district and session court at Panaji. For a Saturday following the week when Environmental Minister Alexio Sequeira went back on his statement that Francis Xavier was part of the DNA of every Goan. For a Saturday following the week when the Nobel prize for physics went to John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton for laying the foundation stone for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

PHOGAT WIN
AND a few stray thoughts on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi suffering a major setback in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. In Haryana, though Vinesh Phogat won her first political wrestling match, the BJP staged a hat trick and secured a majority for the third time. The Congress, which was widely expected to sweep the Haryana election by all the pollsters, found itself playing second fiddle to the BJP.
In Jammu & Kashmir, the National Conference led by Farooq and son Omar Abdullah returned to power with a thumping majority. In both Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, the Modi factor was much stronger than Rahul Gandhi’s factor. As expected the BJP got a majority of 29 seats in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region. The Nationalist Congress alliance got only eight seats. In contrast in Muslim-dominated Kashmir the NC combine got 41 while the BJP got only one seat.
Tragically, the Congress has emerged as the “Muslim party” in Kashmir but the BJP has got all the Hindu votes in Jammu. Even in Jammu & Kashmir, it has been a victory for Farooq and Omar Abdullah as the Congress got only eight seats as compared to 41 by the Abdullah father and son duo. The rejection of Rahul Gandhi in both Haryana in Jammu & Kashmir will make it difficult for the Congress to claim leadership of India.
The defeat in Haryana is attributed to the arrogance and over-confidence of the Congress party. The big losers in the latest round of assembly elections have been the pollsters. In the exit poll at the end of elections in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana, it had been predicted the Congress would sweep Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, but as it has been widely pointed out that the biggest losers in the recently concluded assembly election are those who have been predicting the outcome of the elections. Although it’s going to be tough going for the Abdullahs’ as by virtue of the latest amendment it is the Lt Governor who will call the shots here and also in Haryana.

POOJA NOT THERE
AND a few stray thoughts on the omission of Pooja in the Assagao demolition case and Meghana Sawardekar in the Banastarim accident case from the charge sheets. The charge sheet filed in the Assagao demolition case does not mention the name of Pooja, the wife of the Research & Analysis wing officer who supervised the demolition.
It may be recalled that then DIG Jaspal Singh had protected Pooja Sharma and refused to file a case against her. Jaspal Singh subsequently got transferred out of Goa. The real estate agent from Dona Paula is Arshad Khwaja in the Assagao demolition case. In the Banastarim road accident case in which three people were killed the driver Ganesh Lamani has been made the “bali ka bakra.”
Admittedly the businessman builder Paresh Sawardekar who was in the vehicle and AAP chief Amit Palekar have also been named in the charge sheet. Amit Palekar has also been accused of misleading the police, destroying evidence and protecting the couple. The strategy of the police seems to be to quietly permit the main accused to go scot-free. Citizens should agitate against the dilution of the case against Meghana and Pooja.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AND a few stray thoughts on the Nobel prize for physics going to John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton for laying the foundation stone for Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI users use the neural network to facilitate AI. Hilton used to work for Google but resigned to enable him to talk about the dangers of AI. Hilton has warned that if machines get smarter than human beings a lot could go out of control. Both Meta and Google have made available simpler forms of AI in the form of ChatGPT even on smart phones. Our experience has been that the information provided by ChatGPT is full of errors.
An incident which occurred to a senior resident of Panaji, Arun Baba Naik, dramatizes the problems with AI. When Naik had gone to a neighboring shop in Caranzalem and was returning, he was chased by an angry bull. He discovered that it was his red shirt that was provoking that bull. When he checked with ChatGPT he was told that there is no connection between a red-shirt and a provoked bull. AI has become a major factor in the success of the traditional IT companies and is reportedly being widely used in manufacturing.

VELINGKAR AGAIN
AND a few stray thoughts on bail application for Subhash Velingkar which was rejected by the District & Sessions Court at Panaji. The judgement which was expected at 5 pm on Monday, October 7, 2024 was delayed by four hours. The counsel Saresh Lotlikar insisted that it was under the pressure of the crowd and “mobocracy” that the police were trying to arrest the former RSS chief, Subhash Velingkar.
Subhash Lotlikar claimed that there was an attempt to politicize the issue. Velingkar had only said that a DNA test should be done on the relics of St Francis Xavier. Lotlikar argued that the demand for DNA tests originated in Sri Lanka. Velingkar had also expressed concern over the Rs300 crore being spent on the upcoming Exposition of St Francis Xavier. Lotlikar claimed that Velingkar was entitled to express his opinion as a citizen of the country.
The police prosecutor, Darshan Gawas, submitted to the court that Velingkar had not complied with the two notices issued to him to appear before the investigative agency. Gawas pointed out that while Article 19 of the Constitution guaranteed freedom of speech this was subject to reasonable restrictions. The public prosecutor pointed out that a law and order situation had been created.
Amit Palekar, who represented the Velim MLA Cruz Silva, pointed out that this was not an isolated incident and that Velingkar had been habitually making derogatory statements. Palekar insisted that Velingkar could not use a public platform to incite violence. Other advocates also pointed out that Velingkar is not an ordinary individual but the former RSS chief of Goa. That he was trying to incite violence and communal hatred.
District & Sessions Judge Bosco Robert rejected Subhash Velingkar’s anticipatory bail application. The desk has now been cleared for the arrest of Subhash Velingkar. The police claim they made raids in various parts of Goa and Maharashtra but have failed to find him so far. Velingkar is under pressure from the BJP High Command to surrender to the police. Neither the BJP at the Centre nor in the state of Goa, want any embarrassment on the eve of the exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier scheduled to commence on November 21, 2024.
The infrastructure for the exposition has been almost completed. In a major departure from convention, the casket will be transported in an electric vehicle from the Bom Jesus Basilica to the Se Cathedral. While the Bom Jesus Basilica is the permanent home of the relics, they are shifted to the Se Cathedral for the decennial exposition.

GOAN DNA
AND a few stray thoughts on Environmental Minister Alexio Sequeira going back on his earlier statement that Francis Xavier was part of the DNA of every Goan. Alexio is also the deputy chairman of the Exposition Committee 2024. Sequeira had told Prudent Media “I fail to understand why Velingkar had to come up with such a stupid statement about St Francis Xavier’s DNA. People of all religious denomination have faith in Francis Xavier.”
Some BJP leaders strongly objected to Alexio Sequeira’s statement that the DNA of Francis Xavier was present in every Goan. Sequeira was very worried about losing his kodel and quickly corrected himself. As the deputy chairman of the Exposition Committee, Alexio issued an apology claiming his statement was misunderstood.
Sequeira issued another statement clarifying his remarks about St Francis Xavier’s DNA. “In the face of criticism from certain quarters, I am tendering an apology. What I meant was that the qualities of peace and brotherhood run in every Goan. Should anyone be hurt I would like to apologize.” Unfortunately, the deputy chairman of the Exposition Committee, Alexio Sequeira, should apologize to St Francis Xavier.
This would suggest that Subhash Velingkar has the support of many of the senior BJP leaders. The president of the BJP, Sadanand Shet Tanavade, has refrained from making any statement against Subhash Velingkar. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has no choice but to promise action in the light of all the protests across Goa. The protests may have gone out of hand but for the decision of the church to direct Catholics to call off the protest. However, the fact remains that Velingkar’s unfortunate comments have started dividing Goa along communal lines.

TARUN TAHILIANI FARMHOUSE
AND a few stray thoughts on the fashion designer, Tarun Tahiliani, being served a notice by the Town & Country Planning Department. The fashion designer is in the process of designing his farmhouse in Pomburpa in North Goa. Apparently, the approval of the project was granted based on the old Regional Plan 2001 which is no longer enforced.
The villagers of Pomburpa had approached the High Court claiming that there had been illegal conversion of forest and orchard land. The counsel for the villagers of Aldona is senior advocate Carlos Alvares Ferreira. The Mapusa Deputy Town Planner Zaidev Haldankar has issued a notice asking why the technical clearance given to the project should not be withdrawn.