Evescape

The Politics of Wholesale Defection  The recent political development in Goa wherein two thirds of the Congress Legislative Party merged with the ruling BJP to manipulate numbers, by abusing the lacunae in the Anti-defection Law, has led to the debate on re-visiting the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. -------------------------------------------------- The unbridled somersaults by elected peoples' representatives in Goa perturbs every concerned citizen in the state. It is in the event of the recent political development though -- wherein the lacuna in the Anti-defection Law was absolutely abused and manipulated -- that stakeholders have once again started to express their concern about the ineffectiveness of the law. Frequent defections made a mockery of the party system and made the electoral system vulnerable to frequent and unnecessary elections which inevitably cost a significant amount to the exchequer, thus necessitating the framing of an adequate anti-d...

A Political Rock Star On January 27, I was glued to the television set watching the live telecast of the inauguration of the third Mandovi Bridge named Atal Setu . Termed as an engineering marvel, this bridge is the third longest cable-stayed bridge in India with a total length of 5.1 kilometers. Apart from the razzle-dazzle of the event, I was paying keen attention to the demeanor of the ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, popularly referred to as Bhayi (older brother). It was his first public appearance after several months and as the camera focused on him, it was obvious that the ailment has taken a toll on the leader. However, despite the physical weakness, a never say die spirit was writ large on his face and the sheer enthusiasm (which his critics termed as 'hunger for power') was inspiring to say the least. He appeared unperturbed by the trials (personal and political) while trying to inspire confidence in others. As he cheered the gathering asking, ...