The deadline given to revoke the illegal nomination of Kabir Makhija and Kishore Sastry as Councillors of Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has ended. As the authorities have not acted, I am now constrained to knock the doors of our High Court while also seeking stringent penalty against the erring officials who connived in this blatant misdeed.
It is very unfortunate that Courts which should have been our last resort are today the first port of call on account of a government that has no respect for the Rule of Law.
These former Councillors Kabir Makhija and Kishore Sastry should not have desperately clamoured for these positions by way of backdoor entry and that to knowing that their nomination was absolutely illegal.
The English only speaking Mayor Rohit Monserrate has completed three months in office and as expected has been a non-starter. Nothing was anyway expected from him as he was a misfit for the post lacking the much needed intellectual and administrative skills. He should have at least tried to read the 204 paged CCP Act while also taking some classes in Konkani to be able to communicate with the Municipal workers or in the alternative given them a crash course in English. Despite there being other experienced Councillors in the ruling panel, Babush Monserrate with vested interests foisted his son on the Mayor’s throne while disrupting the young guy’s daily nightclubbing and the pleasures of life that go with it.
At the CCP, the Commissioner and Municipal Engineer should ensure that they do not consent to any illegalities under political pressure. Sooner than later the long arm of the law will catch up and even their Taleigao super boss will be unable to rescue them.
