The minuscule but fiery Opposition and a government that enjoys a brute majority concluded the Legislative Assembly session on Wednesday on a win-win note. The most interesting highlight of the session, however, was the way the ruling members were pushed on the back foot by an Opposition that appeared studied and vigilant, seriously testing the government on facts and statistics.
The session will be remembered not only for its intensity and the no-holds-barred debates but also for touching a gamut of issues — from the dog on the beach to the man on the street and virtually every possible aspect that encompasses the welfare of ordinary citizens. Going into the session as an underdog with uncertainty over unity looming like the English weather, the Opposition did not let the numeric weakness deter them and treated every department with multi-pronged strategies that had ministers in a quandary on several occasions.
We recall the opening day when the Question House was washed out and the Opposition played along in the commotion unmindful that the resultant pandemonium was denying them the opportunity to put forth crucial questions on National Education Policy which were listed for the day. This had cast doubts over the intent of the Opposition, and questions were being raised about they being able to stand up to the challenge ahead. However, proceedings took a different turn thereon.
The positives are that accountability was sought on government spending, pointed questions were asked on finances and the ministers were stretched to the limits on policy decisions. A lot of information came out in public. From land issues to dilapidated buildings, law and order, environmental and pollution concerns, stray cattle, dogs on beaches, tourism, narcotics, casinos, water, road infrastructure, etc, this session saw an array of issues that involved the common man and the interests of the State.
Another positive is that the government conceded on certain arguments and retracted. For example, the Chief Minister agreed to send the IPB Amendment Bill to the House Committee after Opposition MLAs called it “draconian” because it was trying to usurp the power of local bodies. The contentious TCP Amendment Bill which was attempting to evade court scrutiny on decisions of the department was withdrawn. The chief minister agreed to form a committee that includes Yuri Alemao, a professional pilot-turned-politician to discuss the Dabolim imbroglio. It’s a healthy sign that the government respected the Opposition’s point of view on crucial subjects.
More importantly, some legislators from the ruling benches showed bravado when it came to highlighting the chinks in departments. Members like Michael Lobo, Dr Chandrakant Shetye and Sankalp Amonkar vocally expressed their “fear and anxiety” on area-specific problems and were upright in questioning senior members of the cabinet. This is a positive because in the current scheme of things MLAs of the ruling party tend to play obligatory politics and refrain from criticising policy decisions of the government.
On the flip side, it was disappointing that there were no conclusive replies to pointed questions on Kala Academy, Tourism, Archeology and Heritage, and ministers engaged in vague story-telling that deviated from the crux of issues. Probably, the ruling strategy was to tire out the Opposition through lengthy narratives, and to some extent that worked, because ministers managed to get themselves off the hook eventually.
On the ugly side, there was a lot of rhetoric, unnecessary personal references, cross-talk, political play, unparliamentary language and at times disrespect to the chair of the Speaker. That aside, there were takeaways for both — the ruling and the Opposition - and there were lessons to be learned as the session concluded on a positive note.