And a few more stray thoughts and a few more observations for yet another Sunday. For the Sunday following the week when Dayanand Narvekar was finally removed as President of the Goa Cricket Association. For a Sunday following the week when the Congress does not seem to have learnt any lessons from the debacle it suffered in the elections to the Legislative Assembly of Goa. For a Sunday following the week when Manohar Parrikar admitted in an interaction with senior editorial staff of the Indian Express that Godhra had adversely affected the chances of the BJP in the 2002 elections. For the Sunday following the week when no action was taken against the caretakers in the remand home in Merces despite the Chief Minister clearing the file.

AND A few more stray thoughts and a few more observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when the power guzzling, power stealing, steel rolling mills continued to get special treatment from the BJP government. For a Sunday following the week when it was revealed that one out of every ten Congress members of parliament below 40 had inherited their seat from close relatives. For a Sunday following the week when it was revealed that Goa was one of the very few states in the country which has yet to notify the historical Right to Education Act. For a Sunday following the week when the allegedly corrupt and incompetent former executive director of the Sports Authority of Goa, V M Prabhudessai, managed to return to power through the backdoor. For a Sunday following the week when it was disclosed that though the per capita income of the state of Goa has continued to increase despite the recession, the number of families below the poverty line has increased by 400% over the last decade.

AND A few more stray thoughts and a few more observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when Parrikar became a gentleman. For a Sunday following the week when, for the first time after the shocking defeat in the general elections, Congress heavyweights resurfaced in the party circuit. For a Sunday following the week when, even in the face of pressure from the Catholic MLAs and the Church, Parrikar stood by his stand on the medium of instruction. For a Sunday following the week when Matanhy Saldanha’s widow Alina joined the BJP and was expected to be sworn in as a cabinet minister on Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when the Chief Minister succumbed to pressure from the real estate lobby and reverted to the controversial RP 2001.

AND A few more stray thoughts and a few more observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when a section of the press was applauding the Chief Minister for suspending the Block Development Officer and the Panchayat Secretary of Calangute for manipulating the delimitation of wards. For a Sunday following the week when a sample survey confirmed that migrant Muslims either do not send their children to school or force them to drop out at a very early age.

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when the Additional Sessions Judge, Vijaya Pol, acquitted all the 40 accused in the first ever communal riots that occurred in Curchorem in March 2006 for want of evidence. For a Sunday following the week when, as a reward for his support to the BJP, Pundalik Naik was appointed chairman of the Konkani Academy. For a Sunday following the week when, in an act of Mamtagiri, the Department of Education advised libraries in the state to buy only copies of newspapers seen as sympathetic to the BJP. For a Sunday following the week when data released by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration revealed that only 0.20% of Goa’s Muslim children attend school.

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when Manohar Parrikar, in a very swift move in keeping with his new title of Agent Vinod, got rid of the dead wood in the bureaucracy and rewarded efficiency. For a Sunday following the week when, contrary to convention, it is the Directorate of Panchayats which has been entrusted with the responsibility for conducting panchayat elections, instead of the State Election Commission. For a Sunday following the week when discontent was brewing among BJP MLAs over the induction of Deepak Dhavlikar and the independent MLA from Navelim, Avertano Furtado into the cabinet. For a Sunday following the week when Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar repeated the warning that government doctors engaged in private practice would be dealt with sternly.

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when we discovered that even before the late Matanhy Saldanha could be laid to rest, the lobbying had started for who will contest the Cortalim seat. For a Sunday following the week when the crackdown on illegal mining started in earnest with the suspension of Arvind Lolienkar, the director of mines. For a Sunday following the week when Manohar Parrikar sought to clip the wings of PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar by stipulating that the financial aspect of PWD tenders would be handled by the Finance Ministry and not the PWD Ministry. For a Sunday following the week when Digamber Kamat’s nominee Sushila Naik was forced to step down as chariperson of the Margao Municipal Council. For a Sunday following the week when the census of households revealed that 25% of households in Goa have a four-wheeler and that 89% of the households in Goa have a telephone.

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when the Parrikar tsunami hit the Ranes. For a Sunday following the week when the purging of officials seen as hostile to Manohar Parrikar began. For a Sunday following the week when the Chief Minister declared that organisations like the GIDC, EDC, the Infotech Corporation and other government corporations would be run by professionals. For a Sunday following the week when the opposition seemed to be totally paralysed. For a Sunday following the week when Parrikar remained silent on the Bainguinim waste management plant and the reconstruction of the Bandodkar stadium. For a Sunday following the week when Parrikar sought to take control over the media in the state.

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when the Governor’s address, which is actually the statement of intentions of the Parrikar government, remained silent on the medium of instruction issue. For a Sunday following the week when Manohar Parrikar outwitted Babush Monserrate in the elections for the post of the mayor of the Corporation of the City of Panaji. For a Sunday following the week when Marathiwadis and Konkaniwadis alike were furious that the most favoured language for taking the oath in the Legislative Assembly was English. For a Sunday following the week when whatever is left of the Congress Legislative Party was bitterly divided. For a Sunday following the week when a new organisation has sprung up calling itself the Goa Catholic Welfare Union whose primary goal seems to be to chamchafy Manohar Parrikar.

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when soon after the electoral verdict giving the BJP a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly kabrasthans and cemeteries in communally sensitive Curchorem were vandalised. For a Sunday following the week when industrialists boycotted the swearing in ceremony held at the Campal grounds for the first time. For a Sunday following the week when Manohar Parrikar’s claim of zero tolerance to corruption was falsified by his decision to succumb to the blackmail of his alliance partner Sudin Dhavlikar. For a Sunday following the week when the Ranes seemed to be the first targets of Chief Minister. For a Sunday following the week when the Congress Low Command in Goa finally admitted that granting tickets to dynasties was the primary reason for the defeat of the Congress.