“I WAS NOT AWARE OF HIS WICKED HIDDEN AGENDA”
MICKY FIGHTS BACK

Micky Pacheco bares all in a no-holds barred exclusive interview with CALVERT GONSALVES.

Calvert: When you withdrew support to the government on Saturday there were rumours that the government had collapsed. To the national TV channels you had stated that you had two other MLAs with you. Comment

Micky: I withdrew support to the Parrikar government after realizing what kind of a person Parrikar was. There are also more MLAs likely to follow my example. It is only a matter of time before the government falls.

Calvert: Did you expect to be dropped as a Minister and what was your immediate reactions?

Micky: I must admit that it was totally unexpected. Back stabbing is very much there but not to the people who have gone out of their way to assist you to become the Chief Minister. The reason cited by Parrikar is that my way of functioning was not accepted. I wish to point out that I was the only minister who used to openly voice his opinion or sometimes disagree with certain deeds of Parrikar. For example, the agenda for a cabinet meeting was made known much in advance. However when the actual meeting took place, the agenda was inflated and many more files appeared.

Cover story . . . (Goan Observer, August 7-13 2004).

Obviously the additional files were all of Parrikar's interest and were so rapidly cleared that no one could really catch up. At least I could not. Any opposing was of no consequence because the tongues of other ministers were tied and you got no support. I want to point out that no minister has the freedom to run the affairs of their respective portfolios independently. Parrikar keeps interfering and all the ministers are puppets. How long can a normal person tolerate this.

Calvert: You were in U.K when you were dropped. On your return it is said that Parrikar showed you five files, which apparently were of your wrongdoings. I understand that you chose to support him even after being dropped as a Minister because of this blackmail.

Micky: No this is not correct. There is nothing that Parrikar can blackmail me with. In fact when I returned to Goa, he kept a message asking me not to meet the Press before meeting him. However I did it on my way and before I went to meet him I called for a press conference and declared my support for his Government. This was more because I did not want to have the development in my constituency stopped. Parrikar has this dirty habit of instructing the bureaucrats not to move files when you get him on the wrong footing. When I actually met him he told me “ Micky, it was not my decision but the decision of all 22 MLAs to drop you as a Minister.” I calmly told him it was okay but reminded him that I was the person responsible to make him the Chief Minister. He then advised me not to trust the Congressmen when he himself went and sat with them.

Narvekar an accomplice
Calvert :Can you name these Congressmen who he sits with?

Micky : Yes. It’s with guys like Dayanand Narvekar and well almost all the Congress MLAs. Please don’t misinterpret me. It’s not the Congress MLAs that go and sit with him. It is Parrikar who forcibly joins them and discusses matters in the Assembly complex canteen itself. Everyone knows that the Congress MLAs have a back door entry to Parrikar’s house.

Calvert :What made you support Parrikar in the first place?

Micky : I was very impressed with the style with which Parrikar undertook development in the first phase as Chief Minister. I thought that he was a sincere person and would continue being that way. I was not aware of his wicked hidden agenda. I was also instrumental in persuading the MGP MLAs to support him.

Calvert : Is it true that you were promised a substantial sum of money and a ministerial berth when you supported the present government at the time of its formation? It issaid that you persistently kept asking for that amount after you were dropped as a Minister.

Micky: Rubbish!! Micky does not need anyone’s money. However Parrikar does owe me money. I am talking of the money that I lavishly spent for the last Parliament elections after Parrikar himself assured me in front of B.J.P party office bearers that it would all be reimbursed. The deceitful person that he is, Parrikar kept on postponing the payment date and to this day Parrikar remains my debtor.

River Princess
Calvert :River Princess isstill at the very spot where it was when you took over as Tourism Minister. You had openly boasted that you would have it removed. What happened?

MICKY PACHECO: "To this day Parrikar remains my ugly debtor."

Micky : I have sincerely pursued with Parrikar but for some strange unknown reasons he has kept postponing the floating of the tender. Two years is a long time for a normal man to have patience especially when it’s a pending public issue of high magnitude such as River Princess. At that particular cabinet meeting I had made up my mind that I would get results. Politely I asked Parrikar “ Chief, when are you floating the tender for the removal of River Princess”? This time the excuse was that there were legal implications to be looked into and the Advocate General (AG) was not available. When I pointed out that the AG was very much available, Parrikar gave his customary excuse saying that the AG was pre-occupied. I had been constantly assuring the house that the vessel would be removed and subsequently the opposition was grilling me. With all this at the back of my mind, I blew my top and told Parrikar to eat the River Princess. The very next day the tender was floated which has not been opened till now.

Calvert : It is learnt that Parrikar is seriously thinking of filing a “Disqualification petition” against you. He says that the U.G.D.P had pledged their support in writing to form the present government so according to him you cannot withdraw support. Hesays that it’s U.G.D.P who has to withdraw support and not you as an individual. Are you prepared for such an eventuality?

Micky: Nonsense!! Parr-ikar has reached a stage where he is running away from himself. He thinks and tries to show that he knows everything but doesn’t. I was elected on a U.G.D.P ticket so at the time of the initial formation of the Government, the party had given a letter of support. Later I split from my parent party (U.G.D.P) and formed U.G.D.P secular and informed the Governor about this. I then gave a fresh letter of support to the Parrikar Government, which I have now withdrawn. Parrikar even in his sleep tries to find skeletons of his opposition and of his own within the ruling party which he later uses to blackmail them. What Parrikar fails to acknowledge is that his skeletons have piled up to an extent where cupboards are too small to hold them. You will need a few trucks. No one can remove skeletons from Micky’s cupboard because there are none.

Caravela nexus
Calvert: You claim that the Parrikar administration is corrupt. What did you do to fight corruption while you were in the cabinet?

Micky : After all these years the Congress only has a very small office. The BJP has an office worth crores of rupees. Where did the funds come from? I took up the ‘Caravela’ floating casino issue several times with Parrikar. I said that as per the conditions in the Gambling Act it could only operate off-shore that is five kilometers away from the shore. Instead it is anchored in the middle of the river and poses a threat to the movement of vessels. But the CM did not want to do anything because of the high connections the ‘Caravela’ owners enjoy. I demanded that if the ‘Caravela’ can operate close to the shore than others should also be allowed. Why favour only ‘Caravela’?

Calvert : How successful have you been in obtaining schemes like Dayanand Rojgar old age pension scheme, computers for schools and students in your constituency?

Micky : The Dayanand Rojgar old age pension scheme was only a carrot that was dangled by Parrikar in front of my people just before the last Lok Sabha elections when he randomly gave away the initial cheques but after the elections, the scheme was put in cold storage for at least my constituency. People keep inquiring with me and I am now beginning to run short of answers. I am told that a very high percentage of the beneficiaries are either dead or non-existent and a proxy receives payment.

As far as distribution of computers is concerned, I did not depend on the Government because I purchased and distributed computers in my personal capacity even before becoming an M.L.A. Whatever came from the Government was just a drop in the ocean. As far as distribution of computers to students is concerned, it’s a negligible amount that my people got. These computers are rejects and most of them stop working within a short period of time. I can prove this to you.

Minorities discriminated
Calvert: Are you aware that huge amounts of money have been made on the Pre Employment Scheme and thousands have been recruited bypassing the norms laid down? 750 individuals were recruited to fill up 400 posts of LDCs. These people did not have the basic requirement for LDC like typing skill. Have the people of your constituency or for that matter the minority community benefited?

Micky : I have been the “Lone Ranger” as in the western movies always opposing single handedly whereas the other Ministers were and still are deaf dumb and blind to anything and everything that Parrikar does. About minorities benefiting, well I am sure it’s a very negligible number.

Calvert: In what manner did you protect minority interests while in the government?

Micky : I was the only one to protest against the cancellation of holidays on Good Friday and on the feast of St Francis Xavier. None of the others including Mathany Saldanha opened their mouths. I also got the government to sanction Rs One crore to strengthen the infrastructure for the exposition. I was also the first person to reduce the shack licence fee so that Goans could afford to run shacks.

Calvert : What is your reaction to the charge-sheet filed against you in the shack burning case?

Micky: When the shack burning incident took place I was victimized by PI Nelson Albuquerque at the behest of Churchill, inspite of there being no concrete proof against me. Whereas in the Mapusa vandalisation case the culprits are filmed in action and still the case is being taken very lightly.

IFFI
Calvert : Benaulim along with Cansaulim were one of the venues short-listed for the International film festival (IFFI). How did only Panjim get the nod? One Uttam Jain has been appointed the consultant and is being paid a very hefty amount for his so called expertise. Was it approved at a Cabinet meeting?

Micky : I don’t agree that Benaulim or Cansaulim were short-listed. Parrikar had already decided that Panjim was going to be the venue for the IFFI and the thing about short listing was only to show it on record. There was no seriousness in any place other then Panjim. Regarding the appointment of Uttam Jain as a consultant for the IFFI, there was no cabinet decision on it. However I cannot really tell you if Parrikar squeezed this file in the additional files (that I referred earlier) which were not on the agenda of the Cabinet meetings.

Heir splitting
Calvert :Of late there has been a high drama in your personal life.

Micky : Ok Ok I got it. I know what you are trying to get at. See, I have so much wealth and other things. Who will I leave it for? I need to think of myself also and see that my clan moves on to the next generation. Everything that is being done right now is with the consent of other persons. In modern day society if one man does something he is considered wrong. When 100 people do it or 1000 people do it, it is considered to be part of society. So lets not go deeper into it.

Calvert : You splash money around but one of your brothers is employed as a taxi driver. Don’t you think that it is your obligation to at least assist him to have a taxi of his own?

Micky : As a brother I have done my bit. I gave him equal opportunities like others. He did not grab them while the others did. I cannot do anything beyond that. I can take a horse to the water but cannot make it drink.

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