By Aires Rodrigues
On 8th June she will be Minister Alina Saldanha. The long wait for the red beacon may have been a blessing in disguise enabling her to be groomed for the position. The Chief Minister has reportedly planned to give her some "lighter portfolios". One imagines there were only lucrative portfolios! If merit and experience was a criteria Avertano Furtado would have been the Sports Minister and Vishnu Wagh would have bagged the Art & Culture portfolio. Regardless of what portfolio Alina gets she will have to learn to stand on her own feet. Depending on family and friends to run and manage the show by proxy would be improper. Besides, she will also not be able to ride the Matanhy sympathy wave for too long.
For Alina though, being a novice in politics will not be strenuous as long as she keeps in tune with her Master’s voice. The current government being a one-man show by the CM Mr. Manohar Parrikar, most Ministers have been reduced to mere figure heads with no role or powers, merely enjoying the perks and privileges that come with cabinet status. Irrespective of the portfolio assigned to her, Alina could carry on with that garbage eradication drive she had commenced in her constituency. If she can ensure that Cortalim is the first constituency to be garbage free, she will have achieved a lot. As she had claimed she would be fulfilling Matanhy’s dream of seeing Cortalim without a shred of rubbish. Manohar Parrikar may even carve out a portfolio for garbage management.
