The Legislative Assembly is a stage where the problems of common people are taken up and policy decisions for the future of the State are discussed and formulated.
It has cardinal functions like overseeing administration, passing the Budget, addressing public grievances and discussing various subjects like development plans, various state policies and formulating laws.
For the Assembly to function optimally there has to be healthy debates between
the ministers and the Opposition, which need time.
But the decreasing number of days of Goa’s Assembly sessions not only reduces the opportunities for the Opposition to take on the government over its policies, it also affects the quality of debates in the Assembly. This allows the government to get the Budget and other legislations passed without any hindrance.
The recently concluded Budget session was also held for only four days. Has this Budget session been fruitful by any chance? There were days when the Assembly session would go on for days and the MLAs used to respond to questions.
The Budget once presented, would be followed by lengthy discussion involving each department, the potential expenditure and only then it would be passed by the Assembly.
Now, the budget is passed during the Monsoon session with vote-on-account as the government has a majority. What difference does one see between the Budget sessions that were held earlier and now?
Former MLA Radharao Gracias said that the vote-on-account system was used earlier also. The workload during the Monsoon session is less and hence the Budget is discussed and passed during this session.
“Whatever happens in Lok Sabha, is reflected in the State Assembly, like father like son. At one point of time, there used to be heated debates in the Parliament. There are no debates whatsoever either in Parliament or in the State Assembly. The sessions are cut short so there are no chances to move cut motions. This happens because our democracy is based on the Westminster model followed by the UK government which our country adopted,” Gracias said.
“However, we are not English people, we are Indians. Our traditions, culture and weather are different. If you plant an apple tree in Goa, it will not bear fruits,” Gracias said.
“Similarly, the Westminster model is finding it hard to take root in India. If this had happened in the UK, people would have reacted, which would have led to the downfall of those MLAs. However, this does not happen in Goa where the same MLAs are elected repeatedly, regardless of his or her failures,” the former MLA opined.
“People complain that the government is not functioning properly and yet they elect the same people to power. I do not see this as the fault of MLAs and ministers. This is the fault of people. Today the votes are not given based on performance of the MLAs. Votes are cast based on money that is spent before the polls. The anti-corruption campaign by ‘India Against Corruption’ helped Arvind Kejriwal and the BJP to come to power. But now does anyone have the courage to raise the voice against corruption?” he asked.
In Goa, government departments have become hubs of corruption where you pay money to get the work done. Corruption has been systematised. At the end, we keep coming back to square one. Unless people change, nothing will change, the former MLA added.
Ex-MLA and Vice-president of Goa Legislators Forum, Victor Gonsalves said that the rules and procedures that are laid down to conduct the business of the Goa Legislative Assembly have been thrown away. Goa and India would have been faring better had the Constitution of India been followed in its true spirit.
“The Assembly used to run for a minimum of 15 days earlier. After introducing the vote-on-account, there used to be general discussion for three days before passing the Budget. Vote-on-account in this Assembly was brought on the last day of the session. How can there be a general discussion? It's a Finance Bill. Three-day general discussion is compulsory,” Gonsalves said.
“Earlier, MLAs would come to the Assembly prepared because they wanted to speak in accordance with the law so that people knew that work they had done. Today, people are not bothered about the Assembly’s functioning,” he said.
Already there was a curtailed Budget session. On top of that, there was a holiday declared on account of Ram Navami, although it was not a public holiday. Why was the Assembly session so short? Was it an attempt to avoid difficult questions regarding people’s issues or there are no questions at all?
“In the pretext of Covid, they started curtailing the period of the Assembly session. However, all other programmes such as inaugurating bridges, public and party meetings for municipal and panchayat elections were in full swing. If they had the opportunity as per Constitution to skip it, they would have done that too. It has become the trend to try and ignore people's problems,” Congress party member Elvis Gomes said.
“When you are unable to run the administration successfully, you will try to shy away from people. Of course, there is a need to extend the period of the session. During 2007-2012, late Manohar Parrikar would vociferously demand for longer sessions if the session periods were reduced to 15 days. Today, a session ends merely in four days,” Gomes said.
“Be it the Budget session, or any session for that matter, you are given an opportunity to sit down and discuss the issues at length. There are so many issues the State is facing currently,” he said.
It has almost become a tradition to have vote-on-account and debate on the Budget during Monsoon session. But definitely, the working period of the Assembly has reduced. Vote-on-account would happen earlier too, but there would be three-day general discussion on that too. Why is it not happening now?
Siddharth Kuncolienkar, Ex-MLA and BJP spokesman, said that the Assembly’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) consists of the chief minister, leader of opposition (LoP), a minister and floor leaders of all
the parties.
“BAC is the final authority to decide on the duration as well as proceedings of the Assembly session. It's decided after a nod from all the members of the BAC. It's not like just because we are the ruling party, we can decide the duration of a session,” Kuncolienkar said.
But BAC members claim that they are not being heard.
“Assembly Speaker is the chairman of BAC,” Victor Gonsalves said.
Radharao Gracias said that the majority of members of BAC are from the government and the decisions are taken by majority.
So, should Assembly sessions be extended?
“Yes definitely. I think the practice has been that the Monsoon session is the longest one, which goes on for almost four weeks. But one more thing I have noticed is that the MLAs express fatigue after one week of session,” Kuncolienkar said.
When Kuncolienkar was asked the possible reason for the MLAs getting tired, he said, “I don’t know. Even MLAs from
Opposition express tiredness, barring a couple of them.”
Victor Gonsalves said that in earlier days, the Assembly would go on till 2:30 am during his days as MLA.
Or is it that the Opposition members feel that their presence will not make a
difference in the decisions taken by
the government?
“I am sure that everyone will agree that the decision taken in the Assembly is sacrosanct,” Kuncolienkar said.
Radharao Gracias said, “I think the reason is that earlier MLAs could understand the importance of subjects and could debate. But it is not so now. Tell me how many of the legislators can debate today? The criteria to elect MLAs have changed. The rich candidates tend to get elected. Out of 40 MLAs, maybe eight are capable. Rest of them are sub-par. They do not have the ability to discuss an issue.”
Gonsalves said that the sessions used to be long because there were speeches on demands as well as cut motions. There was contribution from every MLA, except the ministers. Now they neither know to demand nor to move cut motion.
Gracias said, “The examples were set by Union governments. Our former prime ministers, be it Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, V P Singh or Rajiv Gandhi, let alone speeches in the Parliament, check their press conferences. They would be always prepared for the questions raised by journalists. In last nine years, for the first time in history, we have a prime minister who refuses to address a press conference. He does not have courage to face questions from journalists.”
The same system is followed here in the State. Nobody wants to be questioned. The system has to flow from the top.
“In Parliament, instead of answering the questions, the discussion ends after calling each other anti-national,” he said.
It is a serious charge that the MLAs do not possess the ability to discuss various subjects. People’s representatives should be able to express their opinion on the issues faced by the State. Why is it that people with such qualities do not make it to
the Assembly?
Elvis Gomes said that finally the ball is in peoples’ court. But the quality of current legislators is not the same.
“A member of the ruling party had mentioned that the MLAs develop fatigue, which is very strange. If they feel fatigued after working only for 10-15 days then there is nothing one can do to deal with this issue as ideally they should be working for 365 days,” Gomes said.
The Congress party member said that there is a need for discussion because for example, be it cut motion or in favour of the motion, a lot is revealed during an in-depth discussion.
“Whether the particular motion is passed or not is secondary, but at least all the sides of the issue come to fore and it reaches to the people. If the government thinks it is competent then why is it shying away from debates? And if the Opposition members are agreeing to curtail the time of the
session, then they should be exposed,” Gomes said.
Siddharth Kuncolienkar however disagreed with the perception that BJP does not want to face questions.
“I don't think it’s true. Our Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has emerged as a very good leader in the Assembly. He was newly elected to the post of Chief Minister but the way he has faced the questions, the way he has conducted himself and answered with dignity, he needs to be credited for it. There is nothing to fear, every question is being answered,” Kuncolienkar said.
“I also do not agree that the House is not functioning properly. Many times, what happens is that all people want are basic necessities such as water, electricity and roads, which the government is providing anyway. Hence, the need is not felt to raise these issues in the Assembly,” he said.
Victor Gonsalves said that people everywhere in Goa are talking about the potholes on roads and on the Atal Setu. This is the quality of work which is being carried out.
Siddharth Kuncolienkar said that the
Opposition takes up one instance and
generalises it.
“Goan roads are by far of very good quality. Potholes on Atal Setu occurred due to a scientific reason. The waterproofing technology used is supposed to be the best in the world, but the bitumen is not holding,” Kuncolienkar said.
“So now L&T has gone back to the conventional way at their own cost and are spending around Rs 20 crore. During the construction of Atal Setu, the so-called activists went to the court to protect 40 mangroves. NGT halted the work for over a year, which resulted in a loss of Rs 32 crore to the exchequer. Today you can see the importance of Atal Setu,” he said.
Radharao Gracias said that in the last 60 years, roads have been built, electricity and water has reached all the households in Goa. These are no longer issues except for the maintenance part.
“There are other issues besides that, for example Mhadei river water diversion and Virdi dam. I did not witness the Assembly sessions, so I do not know if these issues were addressed. All the MLAs should have raised these issues, as these are of great importance. What is the use of an Assembly session then?
Siddharth Kuncolienkar said that there was a special session on River Mhadei, which went up to 1 am. About Virdi, Maharashtra government is building a dam on a nullah which is a rain-fed and not a perennial one. So, they want to store the rainwater. Of course, Goa has to fight for its share.
“But we have to fight for our right, isn’t it? We have to get the order from Tribunal
regarding our share of water,” Radharao Gracias said.
Siddharth Kuncolienkar said that is why the authority for river water distribution which was recently created, is very important. It should be formed immediately.
Elvis Gomes said that the core issues which the State is facing are never
discussed.
“After Mopa airport was inaugurated, there was a big advertisement in newspapers asking for land of any sort be it orchards, mangroves, fields or anything; even without documents. There should have been debate on who the person was and how he dared to put such an advertisement,” Gomes said.
Kuncolienkar said that the Agricultural Bill or the Bill of Revenue department aims to curb this type of illegal practices. When government tries to bring good bills, there is opposition against that too.
Gomes said that the land frauds have become a big business under this government.
“I had personally brought to the CM’s attention two such cases with documents in 2021. SIT and was formed much later. How come there is no action when land fraud is going on such large scale? Despite being so small in size, land scams have become rampant in Goa, which is unfortunate. These are the core issues,” he said.
“Land security is a crucial issue for Goa. The people themselves are not safe given the current state of law and order especially in Bardez. The bouncers start to rule in Panjim once there’s nightfall,” the Congress party member said.
Radharao Gracias said that top Hyderabad police officials are openly saying that they are reluctant to let Goa police investigate as they themselves are in cahoots.
“The government should come out clean on this, identify the errant police officials and take some action as these are serious accusations,” Gracias said.
“And yet government is not discussing it,” Gomes added.
“Are you implying that the remaining three Congress MLAs are also part of it? Who stopped them from getting a zero hour mention?” Kuncolienkar said.
“We did not bring BJP and Congress into this at all, we were talking about core issues,” Gomes retorted.
“The ruling party has nullified Opposition in two consecutive Assemblies. On core issues at least both the groups should unite. When a highly ranked police officer from other State accuses Goa police of being liar, there should have been some discussion on it. The crime rate is increasing, while drugs cases are also on the rise.
Tourism minister is openly talking about what is happening in Calangute.
“That is why tourism minister is taking necessary action,” Kuncolienkar said.
There are two constituencies in Pernem - Mandrem and Pernem. Both are supplied water from Chandel water treatment plant. But this water is being diverted to the Manohar International Airport. Now most people do not use wells.
Gracias said that there is a reason for that. “Pernem people have been supporting the airport since the beginning. Now they have to suffer because of it. People from Salcete had opposed Mopa airport as they wanted Dabolim airport to continue its operations. They knew that Pernem would suffer if the airport was built there. However, they were assaulted.”
Victor Gonsalves said that he has always been of the opinion that Dabolim airport should continue operating.
“Only problem is that the runway is controlled by navy. We were told that navy would be shifted to upcoming Blue Star airport at Karwar. However, navy is still at Dabolim. People of South Goa, especially from Salcete, are wondering whether Dabolim will be shut down or not,”
Gonsalves said.
Gracias added that if the Government of India does not want Dabolim airport, it will just tell the Navy to write a letter to the Centre stating that they wish to expand
the defence base and do not want
civilians to use it. Airport will be shut from the next day.
Gomes said that land is being grabbed, there is no water security and buildings are mushrooming everywhere.
“Take example of a building on Sancoale plateau. Just one builder is advertising for 2000 flats. If on an average three to four people live in those apartments then it could become a ZP seat of 8000 people. There is no planning to face the changing demographics of the State. Police are acting as per the situation and for the politicians, not for the people,” the Congress party member said.
Kuncolienkar said that Opposition should raise these issues.
“Where is the Opposition?” Gracias snapped back. “Just like last Assembly, eight MLAs from Congress defected to BJP within six months. Nobody wants to be in the Opposition anywhere. Their logic is they want to bring development in their respective constituencies. Democracy needs a strong Opposition,” he said.
Another big issue is that New Education Policy will be implemented this year and
no preparations have been made for it whatsoever.
According to Gomes, another trend set by the Speaker is not to take any decision. The issue of defection is pending with him. Because a benchmark has been set by previous Speakers, the incumbent Speaker is continuing with this trend.
“I remember Vishwas Satarkar had given the decision within one day. Then why is it taking months now? To give the decision when it is in favour of the government and to withhold the decision when it is not is not a healthy trend. Discussion should be held on this too,” Gomes added.
Victor Gonsalves said that the best solution for this is all the MLAs should resign, go home and get re-elected.
When asked what the ideal duration of an Assembly session is, Gracias said that in the West, a bipartisan system is followed.
“If there is an issue of people’s interest, they discuss it by keeping their party affiliations aside. This never happens in India and Goa,” he said.
Agreeing with Gracias’ comments, Kuncolienkar said, “Finally we have to take State's interest into account. When the Bill to secure Agricultural lands was introduced, Carlos Ferreira neither completely spoke in favour of the government nor against it. He is a legal expert and gave a lot of constructive suggestions.”
“But I read in newspapers that he is a stooge of the government. We have to refrain from making such allegations. The Assembly’s proceedings should be is best interests of the people and the State,”
he added.
Gomes said that whenever there is a Bill, a seminar should be held. Call the MLAs and the persons involved in drafting the particular Bill and experts in that particular domain. Let them give their views and comments and then bring the Bill to the Assembly.