Congress blames BJP for political chaos in Goa
Panaji, Sep 15 : The Goa Congress on Saturday squarely blamed the ruling BJP for the political and administrative chaos in the state, after Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was airlifted for treatment to New Delhi, even as the party is in the process of scouting for a replacement.
"We would also like to remind the people of Goa that their well-being is the last thing on the mind of the ruling political parties who are unleashing the ugly game of power and clamouring for their benefit.
"The greed for power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies has exposed the fact that they can't give charge even to a trusted lieutenant in the absence of CM," state Congress president Girish Chodankar said in a statement issued here on Saturday.
"The current confusion of epic proportions is only going to hurt the prospects of the state further, especially when the BJP does not even have a second-in-command to succeed Parrikar in his absence.
"The very fact that a second-in-command was never allowed to be groomed by the BJP, shows how selfish interests have sacrificed the interests of the party and the state of Goa," Chodankar said, adding that the Congress sympathises with the health-related issues which confront Parrikar.
BJP's central overseers are expected to visit the state soon to monitor the ongoing developments and decide a political course for the party in view of Parrikar's ailing condition, even as coalition partners have been demanding a bigger role in a dispensation without Parrikar at the helm.
The alliance partners, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Goa Forward, with three MLAs each, have demanded chief ministership for their senior leaders Sudin Dhavalikar and Vijai Sardesai, respectively.
Parrikar, who is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer, was airlifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital for treatment.
Since February this year, Parrikar has been in and out of hospitals in Mumbai, the US, Goa and now in Delhi owing to his ailment. His absence and his inability to officiate hands-on has been criticised by the opposition, civil society and also by the ruling alliance partners.
Chodankar in his statement said that nobody is happy with the piquant political situation Goa is in at the moment.
"No one in Goa is happy, BJP is not happy, allies are not happy, people of Goa are unhappy, bureaucrats and government officers are unhappy, even CM and ministers are unhappy. This happens when you don't respect people's mandate. BJP and its allies should take up responsibility of this mess created in Goa over the last 16 months," Chodankar said.
The Congress had won more seats than the BJP in the 2017 state Assembly polls, but sluggish leadership and decision-making by the party's leaders and quick thinking by the BJP helped the latter cobble up a coalition with regional parties and Independent legislators to form the government.
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‘Pay worker before sweat dries’: Madras HC invokes prophet’s teaching to settle lawyer’s dues
Madurai: Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad to emphasise principles of fairness in labour jurisprudence, the Madras High Court has directed the Madurai City Municipal Corporation to settle the unpaid legal fees of a former standing counsel. Justice G.R. Swaminathan, in an order passed on Saturday, referred to the prophetic principle, “pay the worker before his sweat dries”, observing that this tenet is a facet of fairness eminently applicable to service and labour law.
The court was hearing a plea filed by P. Thirumalai, who served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for over 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. Thirumalai contended that the civic body had failed to pay outstanding dues amounting to Rs 13.05 lakh for his representation in approximately 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts. The current petition was filed after the Corporation rejected a substantial part of his claim following a previous court direction to consider his representation.
Addressing the practical difficulties faced by the petitioner, who stated he could not afford to engage a clerk to obtain certified copies of the 818 judgments to substantiate his work, Justice Swaminathan devised a pragmatic solution. The court permitted the former counsel to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) with a list of cases. The DLSA has been directed to procure the certified copies within two months, with the costs to be borne by the corporation and later deducted from the petitioner’s final settlement.
While the court acknowledged the Corporation's stance that fee bills must be in order, it ordered the civic body to settle the dues within two months of receiving the records from the DLSA.
However, citing the petitioner’s 18-year delay in challenging the non-payment, the court ruled that the settlement would be made without interest.
Beyond the specific relief granted to the petitioner, the single-judge bench made strong observations regarding the administration of legal fees and public funds. Justice Swaminathan termed the petitioner’s claim a "pittance" compared to the number of his appearances and expressed concern over the disparity in payments within the legal field. He noted that while "scandalously high amounts" are often paid to certain senior counsels and law officers by government and quasi-government bodies, others struggle to receive basic dues. The court observed that good governance requires public funds to be drawn on a measured basis and not distributed capriciously to a favoured few.
The Judge also flagged the "embarrassment" caused by the high number of Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs) in the state, noting that the appointment of nearly a dozen officers leads to work being allotted unnecessarily. He criticized the frequent practice of government counsel seeking adjournments on the pretext that an engaged AAG is appearing elsewhere. Justice Swaminathan expressed hope that such practices would cease in the Madurai Bench and that the Additional Advocate Generals would "turn a new leaf" from 2026.
