The Member of Legislative Assembly from Cortalim, GOAN OBSERVER’s “Mouse of the Year” has now become a full-fledged card carrying member of the Sangh Parivar. Mathany Saldanha who made it possible for the BJP to form the government after the elections has now been rewarded with a cabinet berth for helping the BJP to defeat the Congress conspiracy to topple the Manohar Parrikar government. OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT comments on the final betrayal.

JUDAS BETRAYED Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Mathany Judas Saldanha has betrayed the voters of his constituency, the people of Goa and the minority community for a kodel in the cabinet of the Chief Monster of Goa. Mathany Judas Saldanha betrayed not only his constituents and all his old comrades but even the United Goans Democratic Party which had granted him a ticket to contest the elections and to whom he had pledged total loyalty. I understand that Mathany Judas Saldanha did not even consider it necessary to consult the president of the UGDP before his act of betrayal. Never mind that when the UGDP was split by Micky Pacheco and Babush Monserrate, Mathany Saldanha insisted that he would not be party to the politics of defection and that he would remain with the UGDP.

For almost since Mathany was elected to the legislative assembly he projected himself as a very high minded politician or rather a representative of the people who disdained power. Mathany Saldanha kept insisting vehemently that he would not join the Manohar Parrikar led government. In fact when the new assembly convened while its colleagues Babush Monserrate and Micky Pacheco gleefully occupied the treasury benches, Mathany Saldanha chose to sit with the opposition. Mathany Judas Saldanha kept claiming that he was offered a crown several times by the Chief Monster of Goa, but had refused it. But apparently Mathany has not been able to resist the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Goa, when he offered him prestigious portfolios on Monday, June 14 th . I understand that Mathany Judas Saldanha has been offered the Education portfolio which is presently held by Manohar Parrikar. A portfolio of which the Chief Monster of Goa has systematically and deliberately used to saffronise education in Goa. And undermine the status of Konkani as the official language of the State.

PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE: Mathany Saldanha taking the oath of office at Raj Bhavan.

The drama that unfolded on Monday began last Friday in New Delhi. The President of the Goa Congress party Luizinho Faleiro, the black widow spider from Navelim is reported to have met the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil with the new formula for toppling the Parrikar-led coalition government. The black widow spider is reported to have proposed that the Congress should extend support to a government to be formed by the gang of five. The gang of five comprising of the NCP leader Dr Wilfred De Souza, the sole MGP legislator, Sudin Davlikar, the UGDP legislator Mathany Saldanha and the Benaulim legislator Micky Pacheco and the independent MLA from Velim Philip Neri. Luizinho Faleiro is also reported to have strongly urged the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to have the Governor Kidar Nath Sahani removed. In the apprehension that Manohar Parrikar may seek dissolution of the assembly if there was a toppling bid. Shivraj Patil is reported to have given his blessing for the toppling bid and reassured Luizinho that the Union Home Ministry would reject any recommendation for dissolution that Manohar Parrikar might make.

Armed with the benediction of Shivraj Patil, Luizinho and company returned to Goa and began frantic attempts at persuading the gang of five to topple the Parrikar ministry. Micky Pacheco was the most enthusiastic of the conspirators. Micky was painfully aware that his days in the cabinet were numbered. Micky had lost any political clout that he enjoyed with Manohar Parrikar and the BJP consequent on his inability to deliver the Benaulim constituency to the BJP in the parliamentary elections. It will be recalled that Churchill got a lead of over 6000 votes in the Benaulim constituency despite Micky’s lavish attempts to bribe the voters into supporting the BJP candidate Ramakant Angle. Matters came to a head at a cabinet meeting held last Tuesday. At the cabinet meeting Micky is reported to have picked up a bitter quarrel with the Chief Minister over the latter’s refusal to allow him to decisively intervene to have the River Princess removed from the Candolim. Which of course the Chief Monster of Goa was unwilling to do as Anil Salgoancar, the charterer of the River Princess, is a very strong supporter of the Sangh Parivar. Micky Pacheco is reported to have stormed out of the cabinet meeting. So Micky was willing, wanting and waiting when he was approached by Luizinho Faleiro and Girish Chodankar to join the toppling bid. Particularly when the deal was sweetened with the offer of Deputy Chief Ministership.

On Saturday and Sunday Luizinho and company held prolonged negotiations with the gang of five. By Sunday evening they had persuaded all the other four with the exception of the Judas of Cortalim Mathany Sal-danha. The Congress was relying on Micky Pacheco to persuade Mathany Sal-danha to join the revolt against the Parrikar government. The Judas from Cortalim pretended to go along with the conspirators. On Sunday night Mathany Saldanha allegedly went straight to the chief monster and spilled the beans. The grateful Chief Monster used his legendary persuasive skills to convince Mathany Saldanha that the Congress was not to be trusted. That the Congress would pull the rug from under the feet of the new government the moment it decided that Mathany and gang could be dispensed with. Mathany was always apparently interested in the education portfolio which the Chief Minister was reluctant to part with. But faced with the possible collapse of the government the Chief Monster of Goa reportedly agreed to give Mathany the education portfolio and any other portfolio that he may desire. So the deal was struck and when Philip Neri who has his ears close to the government heard about the Parrikar – Mathany deal he also backed out of the conspiracy to topple the Parrikar government.

BROTHERS IN DISTRESS: Chief Minister Parrikar seems to giving some advice to Mathany.

Unlike the Congress leaders like Luizinho Faleiro who went about boasting about the imminent fall of the Parrikar government, the Chief Monster has always played things close to his chest. The opportunistic UGDP organisational wing which is ever looking for a share in the loaves and fish of office has retrospectively approved Mathany’s decision to embrace and strengthen the saffron brigade. The media and indeed political circles came to know about the great betrayal only when the Department of Misinformation and Disinformation announced that Mathany Saldanha was to be sworn-in as a minister at the Raj Bhavan on Monday afternoon at 3.30 pm. The Opposition and even the BJP colleagues of the Chief Minister were caught off guard as they were all expecting an announcement about a minister being dropped rather than another minister being sworn in. And even greater shock awaited one of the key conspirators Micky Pacheco who learnt only after the event that he had been summarily dropped from the cabinet. Much to the jubilation not only of Churchill supporters but of government officials whom Micky had terrorised during his tenure as a montri. The naïve Micky was so confident that the Chief Monster would never dare to drop him that he was in London on the way to Miami, in the United States when he learnt that he had been “thrown out of the cabinet.”

The Chief Monster of Goa, by his admittedly swift and brilliant counter strike, has not only smashed the Luizinho inspired conspiracy to topple his government but has made his government topple proof at least for now. With the induction of Mathany Saldanha into the cabinet the Chief Monster has ensured that the ruling group will have strength of 20 in the house of 40. Mathany Saldanha is expected to merge UGDP with the BJP just as earlier the factions of the UGDP and the MGP represented by Babush Monserrate and Madkaikar merged with the BJP. This would make attempts to topple the Parrikar ministry virtually impossible s the opposition would require 21 legislators to topple the government.

The induction of Mathany Saldanha into the cabinet came at a time when there was intense speculation on whom Manohar Parrikar would drop from the ministry. The Chief Monster has no choice but to drop one of the ministers by July 7 th as according to the new amendment to the Representation of People’s Act the size of the ministry in Goa cannot exceed 12 inclusive of the chief minister. Even with the substitution of Mathany Saldanha for Micky Pacheco, the size of the cabinet continues to be one more than the specified size. There has been intense speculation that Manohar Parrikar would drop one of the trio comprising Sudin Dhavlikar, Micky Pacheco and Philip Neri. Parrikar cannot afford to drop either Madkaikar or Babush Monserrate. Both are members of the BJP legislative party and if either of them are dropped the ruling group would be reduced to a minority. The rumours now are that Manohar Parrikar is likely to drop Vinay Tendulkar, the Forest Minister. Who is eminently droppable as not only has his performance been poor, he also does not enjoy much support with the BJP. Vinay Tendulkar is the same legislator who Nirmala Sawant is accused of attempting to induce to defect during the first tenure of Manohar Parrikar as chief minister.

Mathany Judas Saldanha first betrayed his voters and the people of Goa when he decided to extend support to the Parrikar-led BJP coalition government. Though he maintained the pretence of maintaining an independent stand he seldom opened his mouth in the Legislative Assembly even on issues which were of critical importance to Goans and Goa. He remained silent on the deliberate and systematic saffron-isation of the educational system in the state. He did not protest when the Chief Minister attempted to appoint a VHP activist as the Director of Education.

SWEET SUCCESS: Mathany Saldanha has some gulab jamun after his swearing.

Similarly on other issues like the right to information, the old comrade and trade union activist remained silent. Much to the distress and agony of the other trade union leaders, Mathany never raised his voice against the government switching to contract labour even in as vital areas as education. When the whole of the state was in an uproar over the manner in which Manohar Parrikar was bull dozing IFFI related projects Mathany did not mutter a word of protest. The hero of many agitations such as the Anti Nylon 66 and the anti Meta Strips agitation appear to have lost his voice. To the shock of all those who believe in human rights, Mathany Saldanha has, by his silence, connived in the brutal eviction not only of the sex workers but even of Goans engaged in legitimate business with valid licences and permits. It was Mathany Judas Saldanha’s total transformation or should we say deformation that provoked us to name him “Mouse of the year.”

Mathany Saldanha has, by accepting a cabinet berth, only proved the old saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If Mathany Saldanha had cooperated we may have seen the end of the fascist communal and corrupt Manohar Parrikar government. By his latest act of treachery and betrayal, Mathany Judas Saldanha has ensured that the agony of the Goan people will continue indefinitely. Mathany has consciously and deliberately sought to give Manohar Salazar Parrikar a fresh lease of life. What was shocking was, after the swearing in Mathany Saldanha had the gumption to insist that the Parrikar government was good for Goa and that it deserved everyone’s support. In time of course Mathany will learn how Manohar Parrikar uses and discards people as he has done in the case of Francisco Sardinha, Dr Wilfred de Souza and several others.

At the press conference held after the swearing in on Monday, the Chief Monster of Goa claimed that Micky Pacheco had been dropped because of his style of functioning. As if Micky Pacheco’s style of functioning has been any different in more recent times than when he was invited, cajoled and seduced into joining the BJP government. And Manohar Parrikar obviously is intent on torturing his other cabinet colleagues. In response to a question whether he was happy with the style of functioning of the rest of the cabinet, he responded that the performance of all his cabinet members was also under review. Which means that it is back to the game of eeny, meeny, miny, mo.. who will be the next victim of the Chief Monster of Goa.

Back