AERIAL VIEW
Now, as if that is not enough, the Dr Pramod Sawant government has decided to confer lifetime Cabinet status to Mr Pratapsingh Rane, the longest-serving legislator of Goa. He served Goa for 50 years as the legislator and could have easily gone on to add five more years, but his own son Vishwajit Rane cut short his father’s journey for his own political ambitions.
The article is not about whether Rane should have continued but why should he be conferred the lifetime Cabinet status? What is the need?
The cabinet status means extra security, staff and perks besides the pension to which Mr Rane is already entitled?
Why does a retired politician need 12 staffers? Security is understood as having served Goa for a long time, but that also has to be decided based on threat perception.
Already, the State government is borrowing Rs 300 cr every month to pay the salaries of the government employees; why add these 12 more employees for a redundant post?
On the one hand, we are told the State is going through an unprecedented financial crisis, and the officers are being directed to curtail the department’s expenses, but on the other hand, the government is splurging money as per its whims and fancies.
First of all, the Dr Pramod Sawant government splurged a huge amount on the swearing-in ceremony. Crores were spent even when we were thousands of crores into debt for a function which lasted less than 20 minutes.
Now, as if that is not enough, the Dr Pramod Sawant government has decided to confer lifetime Cabinet status to Mr Pratapsingh Rane, the longest-serving legislator of Goa. He served Goa for 50 years as the legislator and could have easily gone on to add five more years, but his own son Vishwajit Rane cut short his father’s journey for his own political ambitions.
The article is not about whether Rane should have continued but why should he be conferred the lifetime Cabinet status? What is the need?
The cabinet status means extra security, staff and perks besides the pension to which Mr Rane is already entitled?
Why does a retired politician need 12 staffers? Security is understood as having served Goa for a long time, but that also has to be decided based on threat perception.
Already, the State government is borrowing Rs 300 cr every month to pay the salaries of the government employees; why add these 12 more employees for a redundant post?
There are hundreds of contracts nurses and teachers crying for regularisation; instead of wasting money on such needless issues, Dr Pramod Sawant could do well to regularise them. They will at least bless you, Mr CM.
By now, the entire Goa knows why the Cabinet status was granted. It was simply because Rane, a Congress MLA, should retire and give a chance to his daughter in law Deviya Rane, wife of Vishwajit Rane, who contested on the BJP seat.
So to gain one “sure-winning” seat, BJP compromised with Vishwajit and Pratapsingh on this.
So now the family has two Cabinet ministers and one MLA. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe in future, Vijayadevi Rane, who was earlier chairperson of Bal Bhavan, will be given some corporation, so it becomes all four VIPs in the family.
The question now arises, why should the exchequer pay for BJP’s escapades?
Challenging this, a social activist lawyer Aires Rodrigues, approached the High Court against the decision.
Adv. Rodrigues, in his petition, has pointed out that the Constitution of India does not provide for conferring Cabinet status on any individual other than a current minister who is duly sworn in and that there is no law whereby Cabinet status can be granted to an individual, who was in the past a Minister.
Also, under Article 164 of the Constitution, the total strength of the Goa cabinet cannot exceed 12, Adv. Rodrigues in his petition has submitted that conferment of Cabinet status on Pratapsingh Rane results in the number of Cabinet ranks being 13 which exceeds the mandate of law.
Expressing concern that Political patronage seems to be the order of the day, Adv. Rodrigues has further stated that the conferment of Cabinet status on Pratapsingh Rane was malafide, a colourable exercise of power in tearing hurry for political patronage and thus bad in law.