Sloppiness, embarassing scenes at PM’s Goa rally

The Congress party, which is facing an anti-incumbency wave and suffering from accusations of
mal-governance, could have done without the sloppiness and embarrassing scenes witnessed at the last election meeting featuring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rally ahead of the March 3 assembly elections.

There were two ex-chief ministers and incumbent Chief Minister Digambar Kamat running around like worried schoolboys trying to trouble-shoot a damaged sound system, which had interrupted Manmohan Singh’s speech.

Senior state functionaries like Health Minister Visjwajeet Rane, who had to rush to stop frustrated supporters from leaving the venue of the meeting in a huff.

All this even as the soft spoken prime minister Manmohan Singh patiently waiting for the public address system to come back to life.

The sound system failed a few seconds into Manmohan Singh’s speech and precisely at the moment when he, after acknowledging the guests on the dais, thanked Kamat for good governance in Goa.

“Goa’s people are progressive and educated. There is a tradition of peace and amity here. I would like to thank Mr Kamat who…” and that was the moment the public address system at the Sanquelim Government College ground went bust.

Manmohan Singh carried on for a few seconds, after which former chief minister Pratapsing Rane told him that the sound system had failed. Manmohan Singh stood silent at the pulpit for two full minutes, hoping the glitch would be resolved, after which he returned to his seat and sat forlorn for nearly half-an-hour, with only alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel speaking into his ear occasionally.

The half-hour was, however, marked with Congressmen of every rank and order scurrying around to get the sound system fixed, even as nearly more than a quarter of the 8,000 crowd walked away.

“It is extremely sad that they made us wait for half-an-hour in the boiling sun until they repaired the system and did not even have the courtesy to apologise for the delay,” Anand Naik of Bicholim, who had specially come to hear the prime minister, said.

The sound system failure was not the first glitch connected with the Sanquelim meeting.

The chief electoral officer had denied the Congress party permission to organize the political meeting, because it was being hosted in an educational institution.

The Congress party had appealed against the decision to the Election Commission of India, which granted permission for the rally only on Tuesday.