HONOUR AMONGST CORRUPT MINISTERS.

By Nisser Dias 7th April 2011

Honour amongst corrupt ministers

Last Saturday, Goan politicians added yet another shady controversy in its Hall of Shame with the detention of Education minister Babush Monseratte by the Customs officials at the Mumbai international airport for allegedly trying to smuggle huge amounts of money including foreign currency abroad.

This is not something new and it is an open secret that many ministers in the Digambar Kamat led government have ill gotten money stashed away in foreign banks. However with Monseratte being caught red handed at the airport, all the doubts have been erased from the minds of the public that ministers have amassed wealth disproportionate to their known source of income. Infact some of the ministers do not even have any source of income besides the salary and perks for being an elected representative. But their wealth has surpassed several times over compared to their known source of income.

Last year in one of my articles in this same column, I had said the chief minister Digambar Kamat had given a carte blanc to his cabinet colleagues to loot and plunder the state and today it has come true with customs nabbing a Education minister with excessive Indian and Foreign currency.

Be that as it may, another not so surprising development is that ministers as well as Congress MLAs have grouped together to protect Babush Monseratte from the onslaught of the BJP who are baying for his blood. To my mind demanding his resignation is too small a price to pay. What is required is to make the entire cabinet to resign for repeatedly disgracing Goa and Goans. Chief minister Digambar Kamat should take moral responsibility for the manner in which his ministers are behaving and his inability to hold sway over them and give the lead by stepping down. Besides that, he has been the worst chief minister Goa has experienced since Liberation in terms of administration and governance. Corruption by ministers has never seen such heights. They have amassed wealth to last for generations to come, however Divine powers seems to be making them lose it to authorities like in the case of Education minister.

For Opposition Leader Manohar Parrikar opportunity could not be knocking at more appropriate time. He is still reeling under the impact of losing CCP election to Taleigao MLA. Parrikar was also rattled about his diminishing prospects in the capital city and to add to it, Education minister had disclosed his interests in contesting the polls against his bête noire. Today Parrikar is a happy man as he is all set to paint the town red with Monseratte’s alleged smugglers credentials. Not that Monseratte was ever a role model, but he never ever tried to change it either.

Today all the ministers and Congress MLAs have thrown a safety cordon around him so as to pressurize the chief minister not to drop him from the cabinet. However these illiterate ministers have taken a leaf from Manohar Parrikar’s book of tricks. Lest we forget that Opposition Leader during his stint as chief minister with Monseratte as his minister had driven to his house, when Income Tax sleuths had raided it and tried to stop the raid. Parrikar had threatened them for not seeking his permission before the raid. Parrikar had not stopped at that, he had closed the CBI office in Goa. And today ruling members have resorted to a similar thing.

Of course ruling members have loads of skeletons to hide and now they are playing the game of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’. Most of the ministers in the Goa government have accumulated huge amounts of wealth. This also includes hard cash in Indian as well as foreign currency. It is also an open secret that they have opened overseas accounts to stockpile it there. The authorities are very much aware of these hawala transactions of the ministers but their lips sealed with a certain percentage of the ill-gotten wealth of Goan ministers finding its way into the accounts of the authorities. Otherwise why would a top Custom officer from Goa rush to Mumbai upon hearing the detention news of Education minister Babush Monseratte.

Coming back to the point I was making about ministers having accumulated ill-gotten wealth, getting together to support Babush Monseratte at this crucial moment is akin to coming together of similar type of people. They very well know that time might come when they will be in a similar situation and will need the help. Bestselling author Jeffery Archer had put it aptly while titling his novel, ‘Honour among Thieves’. At the same time there is another aspect to it. Education minister will try very hard to be in power because he has learned the hard way that things can be made to happen only when you are in power, otherwise in all probability he will have a long innings behind bars.

Send your comments/reactions to nisserdias@gmail.com Or SMS 9422437029)

(Nisser Dias writes a regular column in GT on Thursday. This article was published in GT today)

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CONDOLENCE TO ALBINO FERNANDES, KUWAIT.

ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY FAMILY I OFFER MY DEEPEST SYMPHATIES TO ALBINO FERNANDES - KUWAIT CITY CATHOLIC CHURCH HELPER, ON THE SAD DEMISE OF HIS FATHER, PEDRO VINCENT FERNANDES AT HIS RESIDENCE AT THANE MUMBAI, ON 6TH APRIL 2011.

FUNERAL WILL BE ON 7TH APRIL 2011 AT 4.00 PM.

MAY THE SOUL OF LATE PEDRO VINCENTE FERNANDES REST IN PEACE.

A. VERONICA FERNANDES,

KUWAIT.