VICE-PRESIDENT Jagdeep Dhankar has the dubious distinction of being the first vice-president in post-independent India to face the ignominy of facing a no-confidence motion, while Kiran Rijuju of the BJP faces a breach of privilege motion, for saying that the Rajya Sabha MPs were “unfit to be MPs” – something which denigrates the entire house. But whether the breach of privilege motion will succeed or fail remains to be seen as the Opposition does not have the required numbers in the committee set up to examine the breach of privilege notice.
But what is fascinating is the bedlam which broke out in Parliament because what united a fragmented Opposition was the no-confidence against Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar whom Mallikarjun Kharge has accused of “acting like a headmaster in a school,” and “insulting Opposition MPs” repeatedly and “acting like a spokesperson of the Modi government.”
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has alleged that his full speech was not shown and that he is not allowed to speak. Journalists have said that the TMC leader, Mamata Banerjee, who reportedly hates te Dhankar who was earlier the governor of West Bengal, is behind this no-confidence motion. Whatever may be the case, this no-confidence motion has brought together all the Opposition leaders on a single platform.
The BJP has alleged that Sonia Gandhi had links with George Soros who wanted the Kashmiris to hold a plebiscite for so-called “self-determination,” but Sonia Gandhi has denied all these allegations. There can be no doubt that secessionism is a heinous crime which is to be tried under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

NARROW PARTY POLITICS
BUT to return to the no-confidence motion against Dhankar, the Constitution declares that the vice-president, like the president of India and governors of states, have to rise above narrow party politics, because he is the second citizen of India and ranks on par with Supreme Court judges if not above them, in the Table of Precedence. However, whether president or vice- president, their names are put forward by the political party in power and expectedly, they do have their own leanings, whether we like it or not.
The Opposition has not been allowing Parliament to function since the last three days so that Dhankar had to adjourn the house because of the bedlam. The Opposition’s no-confidence motion will not succeed because they do not have the requisite numbers in the Rajya Sabha to ensure that it goes through. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla has also been accused of behaving in a partisan manner in favor of the ruling party.
We must realize that Parliament spends Rs 250,000 per minute when Parliament is washed out. Perhaps given that there may probably be some substance in what the Opposition alleges against Dhankar, this no-confidence motion was to be expected.
But what has all this got to do with Goa? For one thing, we seem to have forgotten that Governor Satyapal Malik was shunted out after he alleged there was corruption in the Goa government during its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. He said he had sent a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi but his so called “outbursts” culminated in him being transferred from Goa.

CM’S WIFE?
MALIK has alleged that the Goa government was involved in the cash-for-jobs scam. The Opposition has alleged that \Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s wife is involved in this scam, an allegation stoutly refuted by the ruling party which has said the woman who was arrested in this cash-for-jobs scam was put behind bars at the instance of Pramod Sawant himself.
A spokesman for the ruling BJP said “We should not wrestle with pigs because pigs like to get dirty but we wind up getting dirty.” These are strong words. On Satyapal Malik’s allegations, he said that the former governor lacked credibility. “If so, why did he not take action when he was the governor? He is unfit to be a governor.”
But given the strong emotions aroused holding the Sunburn festival in Goa, there can be no doubt that the ruling party is not as snow white as a saint. This cash-for-government jobs could not have taken place without some of the ministers knowing about it. Hence, to believe that the government was totally unaware of this cash-for-jobs would be very naïve.
Whether it is the BJP or the Congress, corruption has always plagued the Goa government after it was declared a state in 1987 with former chief ministers like Pratapsingh Rane, who once belonged to the Congress, insisting that Marathi should be made the official language of Goa. This was a most heinous offence against all niz Goemkars who speak Konkani. Today, the Romi Konkani versus Konkani in the Devanagari script continues with the government refusing to grant recognition to Romi Konkani which has been used since the 1890s or even before that.

NON-GOANS MOSTLY
WHAT is deplorable is that top posts in the government like director general of police or chief secretary or even the top IPS officers of the Goa Police are not Goans. One of these IPS officers, Sunil Garg, was allegedly paid Rs5 lakh from a Vasco meat trader, Munnalal Halwai, to register an FIR. This case is currently going on in the Supreme Court. The former DGP, Jaspal Singh, was also transferred amidst a controversy that he had ordered the demolition of an allegedly illegal structure on a plot of land bought by the wife of a RAW officer. Jaspal Singh was earlier in RAW and probably knew this officer.
So, our sussegad life goes on in Goa.