On Wednesday evening, Citizen Rights Activist Gaurav Bakshi and the OSD to Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar were engaged in bitter exchanges outside the Revora panchayat over the blocking of vehicle access. It was reported that Halarnkar had gone to the panchayat to attend a sapling distribution programme organised by the Revora panchayat. Moments after the altercation, videos went viral of the activist asking the OSD to move the minister’s vehicle so that he could proceed to the parking area, and the OSD snapping in a heated retort.
What started as a petty altercation flared into a major verbal dual with Colvale police rushing to the spot and taking stock of the situation. Complaints and counter-complaints followed in the evening and eventually, an FIR was lodged against the activist followed by arrest and subsequent release on bail.
At the heart of this entire issue is a very sensitive subject. Halarnkar was rattled because the activist uploaded videos of the entire scene and followed it with another one with a commentary virtually naming and shaming the minister and the system. The point he put across was how ordinary citizens are being targeted by ministers in Goa. He levelled allegations of corruption and highhandedness of those in power and even sought the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the face of it, and going by the videos that went viral, it is obvious that it was Halarnkar’s car that was obstructing the movement of vehicular traffic, and we are still baffled by police recording it the other way. Even if we go by unfamiliar reasoning that it was a minister’s car which was on its way out, it still does not fit into the logic of denying common citizens their fundamental right to ask questions, in this case, asking him to move his car that was blocking the road.
By unleashing police machinery on the activist, a message has gone across that ministers and high-ranking political leaders call the shots and lawkeepers are at their beck and call. A message has gone across that ordinary citizens cannot question OSDs, let alone ministers. A message has gone across that “you either shut up or face the music”.
Is that the message that Halarnkar is conveying? The Fisheries Minister is known to be a man of few words, displaying humility and normally keeping a low profile by steering away from controversies. We are baffled at this brazen show of one-upmanship at a time when he just needed to be his normal self. Displaying arrogance and ensnaring an individual over such a trivial matter, that too without a cognizable violation, only exposes the power ministers wield and the hollowness of our system. It is a pity that political powers are flexing their big political muscle in scant regard to the law and the people. We saw it in the recent Assagao case, and now we see it in Revora.
Cases of police being unleashed on people or unjustifiably used to cover up violations do not bode well for a State like Goa, especially because police are looked upon by the common man as their only defence. The Revora incident sets a horrible example and stands out in the many others where attempts are made to stifle voices of dissent.
