Historically, Goa's coastline has been extremely porous, exposed by the innumerable 'landings' one heard of in the pre-liberalisation era. So, it was natural that the top brass at the police headquarters go about thumping their chests over coastal security. It's another matter that they are still clueless over the task, but even as they go about burning the midnight oil to secure our coastline, it's ironic that they get smitten by this shocking attack that had its origins in hinterland Ponda.
Surely, the Margao blast is a wake-up call not just for the police but also for the Digambars, the Ravis, the Dhavlikars, the Ranes, the Monserrates, etcetera, etcetera...and of course, the Parrikars too!
We were lucky that the two members of the Hindu right-wing outfit Sanatan Saunstha, who later died -- Malgounda Patil and Yogesh Naik -- were the only ones injured, and from the evidence available, were themselves carriers of the Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) that exploded.
Had their plans materialised, Margao would have had a bloodbath, and God knows, a possible repeat of Curchorem, with Moti Dongor and Kharebandh facing all of the backlash.
No amount of walks and public meetings can ensure peace. Merely setting up groups and tagging the word 'secularism' to its nomenclature, can help when known right-wingers don't condemn the blast. It would have made better sense if Uday Bhembre, Sridhar Kamat, Dr Francisco Colaco, Dr Oscar Rebello and co had done what it takes, to bring on stage Shramad Raiturkar and co, to condemn the blast if secularism was their goal.
Is it just a coincidence, that Shramad who is Manohar Parrikar's blue-eyed boy and claimant No 1 to BJP's Margao ticket has lost his voice? It's more than a week now that Margao witnessed a blast that killed two people, yet there's not a word from the otherwise verbose Shramad. Surely, his silence and that of my friend Rupesh Mahatme and others from the BJP brigade in Margao is deafening, and perhaps, revealing.
As for Parrikar, it would do Goa and his own tottering party a world of good if he only left his potshots at Ravi Naik for some other day, and let the cops do their job in the blast case, lest it end up like the Socorro mosque burning case... dead but not buried.
No policing this!
Doesn't seem like our cops are up to it. Although their immediate response to the Margao blast was speedy and more than satisfactory, the way their men have been going about staging nakabandhis is ridiculous to state the least.
A senior colleague who travels home to Vasco on a two-wheeler from our St Inez office always past mid-night had this very queer story to tell. On the day of the blast, the policemen at the Cortalim Nakabandhi post were extremely strict, stopping every vehicle that went by. But from day two, they seemed more interested in latching on to guys on two-wheelers without helmets, rather than checking antecedents of those moving in those unearthly hours.
They just let a whole load of vehicles pass by because of this uncanny trait of theirs to eke out a few bucks from helmet-less bikers, narrated this senior colleague of ours.
And, another colleague from Margao says, the festivities at Harimandir, the heartland of Digambar country, went on well beyond midnight despite the blast, when cops went about shutting down Narkasur events all over the state!
‘Ban? How can we ban?’
These were the exact words that the world's largest newspaper quoted Chief Minister Digambar Kamat: "Ban? How can we ban them? They will go to court," in the context of the demand for a ban on the Sanatan Saunstha's activities.
So has Goa Foundation, but that did not deter him or his government from promulgating an ordinance and later a law, to save a hotel in blatant defiance of the land's highest court -- the Supreme Court of India.
Pramod Muthalik of Ram Sene too has gone to court challenging the government's ban on his entering Goa. But then, that's the process of law that needs to be followed and not put the cart before the horse to pre-empt a ban, if it's prudent to defeat the bigots and terror mongers.
Mickky on the backfoot?
The Maharashtra elections are over, and as expected, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has lost its top position to ally Congress. Sources say, encouraged by what's happening in Maharashtra, Congressmen here in Goa are bracing themselves up for another round of NCP-baiting. Another round of 'observers' coming from Delhi cannot be ruled out, say some senior Congressmen.
So, where does it leave Toursim Minister, Mickky Pacheco, who belongs to the NCP and has been under fire over his escapades in a casino? Clearly on the backfoot, with or without the Alemaos.
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