IAS OFFICER SHUNTED FOR NOT BOWING DOWN TO GOA CM’S ORDERS

By Aires Rodrigues


The recently appointed Excise Commissioner of Goa Dr. Jayadev Sarangi has been shunted from the post for having transferred Excise Inspectors without the approval of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Dr Sarangi, a senior IAS officer who was posted in Goa last month by the Union Home Ministry had taken charge as Excise Commissioner just two weeks ago on 21st May. Dr. Jayadev Sarangi known to be no-nonsense officer was Deputy Inspector General of Prisons at the Tihar Jail before being posted in Goa.

On 1st June, Dr. Jayadev Sarangi issued orders transferring 24 Excise Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors who had completed a year at the same excise station. Incidentally Mr. Sarangi left the same evening to Delhi on a week’s leave to bring his family down to Goa.

After the transfer orders were faxed the same evening to the Excise stations, the transferred officials moved their political contacts the same night to get their orders cancelled. Sources reveal that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was annoyed that the transfers were effected without his consent and tried to get them cancelled that same night. It is learnt that the OSD to the Chief Minister Mr. Michael D’Souza who was officiating as Excise commissioner during Dr. Sarangi’s leave period tried to contact officers late that night to cancel the orders. On Monday 4th June, Michael D’Souza, issued an order keeping in abeyance the transfer orders issued by Dr. Sarangi.

Interestingly in the transfer orders issued by Dr Sarangi, four lady officials for the first time were posted at the Excise stations. In the past ladies were reportedly always sidelined and denied posting at the excise stations.

Ironically Dr Sarangi who is scheduled to return back to Goa tomorrow accompanied by his family to resume as Excise Commissioner on June 11th finds himself suddenly shunted out on the orders of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Dr. Sarangi has been directed to report to personnel department to await his next posting.

The transfer of staff within the department was the prerogative of the Excise Commissioner and did not require any approval or consent of the Chief Minister or any other politician. Chief Minister Manohar Parikar is high handedly interfering in the day to day administration. This behavior is neither permissible nor acceptable.

The bureaucracy should be be allowed to function independent and free of political interference. The rule of law requires government officials to solely comply with the law at all times. Every government official should vow not to succumb to illegal political orders and to always do what is right while functioning strictly in accordance with law. Government officials who bow and bend to the politicians in power have no right to be in public service being paid by the State exchequer.

MINISTER DESIGNATE ALINA SALDANHA.

 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.

MASSACRE IN SYRIA.

On the day of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on 2nd August 1990, BBC in its early morning news bulletin asked very loudly and of course sarcastically thus: “where is Arab League gone? Where is OIC gone? Where is GCC gone??” These organisations are formed to protect the member nations but when Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Kuwait the strength of all these Arab and Islamic organisations came to Zero value, all these organisations turned out to be impotent to avoid and to stop the invasion of Kuwait which is the member like Iraq of Arab League and OIC. It gave an impression that Saddam Hussein said “go to hell with all these organisations, I will do what I want to do” and he did it by invading Kuwait against the principles of all these organisations.



In Arab and Islamic Syria what is happening now is really sickening. The official Syrian forces and Syrian militias owing allegiance to Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad with full liberty are killing innocent unarmed Syrians including children, aged and pregnants. Assad and his government are become immune to the saner voices coming from all around the globe including that of Kofi Anan who is so tirelessly trying to bring about peace there. Kofi Anan’s mission is backed by the UN and other Arabs but up to now no solution is visible. Assad is acting as hard as rock, he is hell bent to eradicate any opposition to his regime from his opponents.


In view of this brutality going on in Syria I feel like asking the way BBC asked earlier: “Where is Arab League gone? Where is OIC gone now? What these organisations are doing to avert and stop the massacre going on in Syria? These two organisations are formed to solve the problems in Arab countries and OIC members. It looks like the imperative need is come for the involvement of Western Christian powers to enter directly in Syria to stop Al-Assad from killing his own people.


There was a time when Arabs were mercilessly killed by the Jewish Israelites. Now in Syria you don’t need Jews to kill Arabs but Arabs themselves are killing their own Arab brothers and sisters. Assad must know that for everything has got a point of saturation and this point of saturation for Assad’s might will surely come either today or tomorrow. How long Assad will kill his own people and how many numbers? Will he survive to eradicate by liquidating the entire opposition from Syria? Assad will have to surrender to the mighty will of the mighty opposition of Syrians who are all out to dethrone him.


We saw recently how Husni Mubarak in Egypt surrendered and now sentenced by the official Egyptian judiciary for life. We saw how in Libya Ghaddafi’s end came so miserably. We saw how in Tunisia people’s power revolted against its own arrogant president. In Syria I am sure Assad will face the same fate as that of Ghaddafi and Mubarak. Or worst still he may face the fate of Marie Antoinette. It is only the question of time.


While the entire world in unison raised its voice against the barbarity of Assad’s regime against his own people, regretfully it is only the two powers Russia and China that are siding with brute Syrian regime under Assad. Russia and China are both communists countries that have no sympathy for the massacred Syrians because both these countries like Syria are also blood thirsty of their own citizens. Both these two atomic powers always side with the brute leaders.


Even during the time of invasion of Kuwait both Russia and China like deaf and blind abstained from voting in the UN in support of Kuwait’s liberation. No doubt they both refused to support invasion of Kuwait but they abstained from voting in the UN to punish Iraq. It is a pity that such powerful nations refrained from expressing their opinions openly against Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and condemning it.


By siding with Syria, both Russia and China are siding with the criminals of Assad regime. Russia in particular has got a very dirty habit of supporting the wrong doers. During the decisive motion in the UN at the time of Goa’s invasion by Bharat of Nehru, Russia sided with the invaders of Goa though Russia barked like dog saying they are supporting the liberation movement.


In Goa’s case Russia supported Bharat that unlawfully invaded Goa in the name of liberation. Goa in December 1961 was not liberated but recolonized by Bharat and turned it into a worst place for Goans to live a peaceful life. If Russia was the real supporter of the liberation movement then it would not support invasion of Goa by Bharat against the wishes of Goans. I can rightly say Russia like China is the promoter and supporter of arrogant regimes that suppress freedom of the people just as what Syria is doing under its president Bashar Al–Assad..


A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.