ISIDORE ZALO CROREPATI ?

Cheered on by the Sangh Parivar, Isidore Judas Fernandes is poised to leap into the Lotus pond. Unlike other Olympians, Isidore has been promised an entire goldmine.

THE POINGUINIM Congress legislator Isidore Fernandes, who quit his Assembly seat is poised to join the Saffron brigade. He is alleged to have been paid Rs three crores for his act of treachery. In addition, Isidore Fernandes is likely to be given his own personal goldmine in the form of the chairmanship of the proposed Margao Planning and Development Authority (MPDA). The MPDA is expected to be extremely remunerative as many of the coastal villages where hectic construction activity is going on are proposed to be brought under its jurisdiction. Among the coastal villages that will be covered by the new MPDA will be Colva, Benaulim, Betalbatim and Majorda.

GOAN OBSERVER also understands that Isidore Fernandes may replace the lone Maharashtra Gomantak Party MLA, Sudin Dhavlikar, as the Public Works Department Minister in the Parrikar government. Even a non-member can be appointed a cabinet minister or even chief minister provided he gets elected to the Legislative Assembly within six months. It may be recalled that though Jayalalitha was disqualified from contesting the last Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu consequent on her conviction in the Tansi land deal, she was invited to head the government by the then governor of Tamil Nadu former justice (retd) Fathima Beevi.

Cover story..... (Goan Observer, August 21-27, 2004.)

By brokering a deal with Isidore Fernandes, Manohar Parrikar expects not only to insure the BJP legislative party against the imminent threat of the disqualification of Party President Rajendra Arlekar and Agriculture Minister Dayanand Mandrekar but also hopes to teach the incumbent PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar a lesson. Sudin Dhavlikar's name has figured prominently as the chief minister designate whenever attempts have been made to topple the BJP government.

Unlike other minority community MLAs like Micky Pacheco or Philip Neri, Isidore Fernandes is not threatened by a backlash from the minority community as Christians account for less than ten percent of the Poinguinim constituency. Money is the principle motivator in the predominately backward class constituency. Historically, Isidore has nursed the Poinguinim constituency by liberally distributing money. On a visit to his ancestral home in Mashem, Canacona, close to the Karnataka border, Isidore proudly pointed to the massive Godrej safe in his bedroom where he holds regular durbars.

As an opposition member Isidore, like other non BJP MLAs and collaborators, has been feeling the pinch. The Godrej safe has been emptying out so fast that it more bare than Old mother Hubbard’s cupboard. But with this imminent strategic dive into the lotus pond, Isidore is confident that the safe will not only be full but will overflow.

The megabuck deal was reportedly brokered by the neo-saffronite Town and Country Planning Minister Babush Monserrate. The Poinguinim MLA and the viper from Taleigao are old friends. Isidore Fernandes actively campaigned for Babush Monserrate’s panel in the Taleigao panchayat elections. Isidore’s complicity with the saffron brigade also stood exposed during the parliamentary elections. While the congress candidate, Churchill Alemao, secured a significant lead in the neighbouring Canacona constituency represented by the BJP MLA Vijay Pai Khot, the BJP candidate secured a comfortable lead in Poinguinim which was a Congress bastion.

The deal which fructified on Thursday has been under negotiation ever since the panchayat election in Taleigao held early this year. Goan Observer understands that the Poinguinim MLA had several meetings with the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar over the last two months. The decision to induct Isidore Fernandes into the Sangh Parivar reportedly received the benediction of the BJP High Command when it met for its chintan bhaitak at the International Centre earlier this month. The BJP President Venkaiah Naidu is reported to have personally assured Isidore Fernandes that the BJP would stand by him unlike the Congress.

Isidore Fernandes’ resolve to join the BJP was reinforced when the new draft on delimitation proposals were made public. To his shock and dismay, Isidore Fernandes discovered that, as per the new delimitation draft, the Poin-guinim assembly constituency, which he represents, is proposed to be scrapped and merged with the neighbouring Sanguem and Canacona constituencies. As part of the Judas deal, Isidore has reportedly been assured that the BJP will ask for a revision of the draft delimitation proposals to retain the Poinguinim constituency. Alternatively, Isidore Fernandes will be given the ticket for the Sanguem constituency with which a large part of the present Poinguinim constituency is to be merged.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS! Isidore Fernandes flanked by Goa Pradesh Congress Committe President Luizinho Faleiro and Ravi Naik at a function.

Isidore Fernandes has been very bitter over the manner in which he has been historically treated by the Congress party. In the last assembly elections Isidore was denied the Congress ticket. And contested and won the elections as an independent. Even in the 2002 elections, Isidore was kept in suspense on whether he would be allotted the Congress ticket till the day of filing the nominations.

Isidore has been very bitter with the Congress leadership in the state and has been quite vocal in accusing them of collaborating with the Parrikar regime even while maintaining the pretence of opposing him.

DELIMITATION
In an exclusive interview to Goan Observer (SEE PAGE 5) Isidore Fernandes justified his decision to join the BJP pointing out that opposition constituencies inevitably get neglected irrespective of the government in power. Isidore has also lamented the fact that all the leg pulling within the Congress among the senior leaders has left junior MLAs bewildered and confused.”There are many leaders in the Congress and the few followers are feeling like orphans.”

Isidore’s decision to take the plunge into the saffron lotus pond was also reportedly influenced a great deal by Micky’s revelations in the Goan Observer that Manohar Parrikar is very vindictive. It may be recalled that Micky had told Goan Observer that Parrikar has been in the habit of cutting off and stalling the disbursement of development funds to constituencies represented by MLAs seen as hostile to him. Besides Babush Monserrate, Mathany Saldanha is also reported to have played a major part in persuading Isidore to link his fortunes with the saffron brigade.

There is perhaps a measure of truth in Isidore Fernandes’ allegations that the top leadership of the Congress and more than half the members of the Congress legislative party are deeply embedded with Manohar Parrikar and the saffron brigade in the state. The LOO Pratapsing Rane, has been behaving as though he is a BJP leader rather than the leader of the opposition ever since Parrikar toppled the Sardinha government and captured power. It will be recalled that Pratapsing Rane was permitted to continue to occupy the Speaker’s post during Parrikar’s first tenure as Chief Minister. Moreover the LOO has consistently functioned as though he is part of the ruling party and not the Leader of the Opposition. In the recently concluded legislative assembly session, Pratapsing Rane sabotaged the possibility of a discussion on the No confidence motion moved against the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

In the wake of the victory of the South Goa candidate Churchill Alemao, it looked as though the Congress had begun to take its role as an opposition seriously. The President of the GPCC, Luizinho Faleiro, went through the motions of huffing and puffing and threatening to bring down the Parrikar government. But all the while it was clear that it was a charade. Luizinho Faleiro was not very enthusiastic about campaigning for Churchill Alemao and in fact was taken totally by surprise both by the party candidate’s victory and the margin of his victory. The fact that the raiding party which went to Zug Mobor island, substantially owned by Luizinho Faleiro’s family, spared the bunds even while demolishing some structures put up by the original owner of the land, exposed his continued collaboration with the BJP.

Not just the senior leaders but several other Congress MLAs are reported to be close to the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Many of them have been accused of spying on their Congress colleagues and reporting back to the Chief Minister. The lack of unity in the Congress camp was drama-tised during the visit of the High Command Observer Margaret Alva. Shockingly, the CLP leader, Pratapsing Raoji Rane, failed to inform the observer that he had been a party to the postponement of the motion of No confidence against the Speaker and the deputy speaker. Rane is alos alleged to have sabotaged a well planned toppling bid coinciding with the withdrawal of support for the BJP by the Benaulim, MLA Micky Pacheco.

The Congress is rushing headlong to its doom in the state. By its acts of omission and commission, it has helped Manohar Parrikar and the BJP to strengthen their positions. Significantly, when a meeting of the Congress legislative party was convened to discuss the imminent defection by Isidore Fernandes, the GPCC President and several other Congress leaders were conspicuous by their absence. The meeting was presided over by the Vice President and spokesperson Jitendra Desprabhu. Luizinho Faleiro’s excuse for absenting himself was that he had to attend the funeral of a party worker. Apparently the funeral of the party was not of any concern to the President of the GPCC.

The Congress got its first wake up call when Parrikar managed to persuade Babush Monserrate and Madkaikar, elected on the UGDP and MGP ticket to formally join the BJP. The Congress got its second wake up call when Mathany, who was being wooed by a section of the Congress after the sacking of Micky and his withdrawal of support to the BJP, accepted a ministerial berth. The bankruptcy of the Congress leadership and its spinelessness again stands exposed by its inability to persuade Isidore Fernandes to change his mind about quitting the party and joining the BJP.

The Congress leaders did make a last ditch attempt to persuade Isidore to change his mind and remain in the party. Several Congress leaders belonging to the minority community including GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro and Cuncolim MLA Joaquin Alemao rushed to the St Inez residence of Isidore Fernandes on Tuesday evening to pressurise him into staying back in the Congress. When he got wind of the pressure being applied on Isidore, Parrikar very shrewdly sent Babush Monserrate to Isidore’s house to ensure that the latter did not succumb to pressure. Babush will no doubt provide expert guidance to isidore on how to milk the MPDA as he has done in the case of PPDA.

There is total dismay and demoralisation in the rank and file of the Congress party following the defection of Isidore Fernandes to the saffron brigade. So much so several other congress MLAs are reportedly contemplating emulating the example of isidore Fernandes. Besides Subhash Shirodkar or the pipe scandal fame and Anna Harish Zantye, the Quepem MLA, Chandrakant R Kawlekar is also poised to take the plunge according to informed sources.

Back