Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who is known for his controversial remarks, has issued an insensitive statement regarding the recent demise of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar and swearing-in of new CM Pramod Sawant. Politicising the death of the leader, Nirupam questioned the timing of swearing of new CM at 2 am on Tuesday and added that he thinks BJP was waiting for Parikkar to breathe his last.
गोवा में रात डेढ़ बजे नए मुख्यमंत्री ने शपथ ली।
थोड़ा अटपटा लगा।
ऐसा लगा जैसे पर्रिकर जी के जाने के इंतज़ार में पूरी BJP थी।
कम-से-कम उनकी अस्थियाँ तो विसर्जित हो जाने देते।#RIPManoharParrikar— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) March 19, 2019
“In Goa, the new CM took oath at 1:30, during night time. It seems that BJP was waiting for Parikkar to breathe his last. At least, they should have waited ’till immersion of his ashes” Nirupam tweeted. However, what Nirupam is missing to add in his tweet is the fact that it was desperate Goa Pradesh Congress Committee which wrote to the Governor staking claim to form the government, hours after the demise of CM.
The Goa Congress Pradesh Committee in their letter to the Governor first wrote about how deeply they mourn the demise of CM Manohar Parrikar and then say that this ‘development’ calls for the immediate and smooth transfer of power to Congress. They had gone on to write that the coalition partners of the Parrikar led government had allied with the BJP on the condition that the government would be led by Manohar Parrikar and with his death, BJP has no allies.
The new CM of Goa had to take charge so soon because of constitutional reasons, because a state must have CM all the time. When a CM resigns or dies, the government falls, and the appointment of a new government becomes a priority as per law, unless president’s rule is imposed. In case of resignation, the incumbent CM can function as care-taker CM, but that provision is not applicable in case of death.
This is not a new practice, this has followed since independence whenever a CM or PM dies while in office. Gulzarilal Nanda had taken charge as PM immediately after deaths of Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shashtri, because India must have a PM at any point of time. The same practice was repeated after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, who was killed on the morning of 31st October 1984. Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of India at the evening on the same day, who had rushed to Delhi from Calcutta after getting the news. Therefore, Pramod Sawant taking charge as CM of Goa one day after the death of Manohar Parrikar is as per established conventions and constitutional requirements, and there is nothing unusual about it.
Sanjay Nirupam is a habitual offender when it comes to issuing controversial remarks.
Recently in his tirade against PM Modi, he had said: “Narendra Modi, since the day he rose to power, has been blaming Congress party for every wrong thing that is happening in the country and in future PM Narendra Modi may say that Congress is the reason for his birth”. He had also added that country will “politically” hang PM Modi in 2019 elections for the hardships they had to face during demonetisation.
Sanjay Nirupam, in past, has also used crass language. He had even called PM Modi as ‘illiterate and uncouth’. Sanjay Nirupam’s offensive tirade is not limited to PM Modi, as earlier he had tweeted a sexist tweet on Smriti Irani after the fake news circular was withdrawn. Recently, after the Karnataka elections concluded, he had used vile and derogatory language for the Karnataka governor also.
