Panaji: The two-day-long Assembly session, which culminated on Friday, sent a clear message that the opposition needs to get its act together. Meanwhile, GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai continued to perform as a one-man army on the floor of the House.
The lack of coordination between the opposition benches was clearly visible on the first day when there was confusion over whether to walk out of the Assembly or continue protesting.
Amidst the confusion, Vijai was the only one who remained standing with a placard in hand until the Governor concluded his hour-long address to the session.
What was interesting was that the Governor himself acknowledged Vijai. Before moving out, Pillai was seen conversing with Vijai for almost three minutes. The details of their discussion are not known.
Vijai remained mostly silent on the first day of the session. He was seen complaining that his Calling Attention motions and Zero Hour mentions were not allowed by the Speaker on the second day.
After being in the opposition for the last six years, the people of Goa have always looked to Vijai to speak, considering his well-researched speeches on the floor of the House.
This time around, he raised issues such as the job scam, the continued land-grabbing in the state by Zuari, and other concerns. He demanded that the SIT investigate the job scam and sought clarification from the government regarding the existence of the land mafia in the state.
Interestingly, Vijai was the target of a social media campaign a few hours before the Assembly session. Videos of how Vijai had allegedly converted a hillock at Molcornem were circulating, and a photograph of him holding a placard during the Governor’s Address was morphed and spread.
Vijai, referring to this, alleged that there was a “toolkit” working against him and hinted that the ruling party might be involved in it.
While Vijai occupied the spotlight during the second half of the last day of the Assembly, the divided opposition was clearly visible on the floor of the House.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, although he launched a scathing attack on the ruling party, failed to unite the opposition. He was not seen complimenting Vijai’s efforts to corner the government and instead pursued his own strategy.
Alemao’s question on Green Cess could have been a blow to the ruling government, but his long-winded explanation of its history and the lack of support from the opposition benches turned it into a damp squib.
Alemao’s failure to coordinate with colleagues like Vijai and Venzy resulted in missed opportunities. A common strategy for floor coordination was clearly lacking. He also remained non-responsive to the Bills tabled on the floor of the House.
Congress MLA Carlos Ferreira was seen joining hands with Vijai on the floor of the House, while Altone D’Costa was underutilized.
There was also no coordination between AAP, Congress, and GFP, with the Revolutionary Goans Party remaining an independent opposition on the floor of the House.
AAP MLA Venzy Viegas raised issues that were not in sync with the other opposition members. Though Venzy is emerging as a formidable force in the House, he didn’t get a good opportunity to demonstrate his aggression during this session.
Viegas raised important issues related to his constituency and his special area of interest—the shipping industry. He demanded that the shipping industry be given more attention in the state.
