Wine and Dine

Party Time -1

They spent Rs 93,42,544 (see earlier Flying Circus series) flying over a relatively short period of less than two years. Nobody knows why really or what was achieved from it, except the flying was primarily to Mumbai and Delhi, some of it to holiday destinations and pilgrim centres. The Gods must be desperate, you’d think except your montris felt getting you to pay for their absolution was okay! Next they let their hair down and partied till the cows came home. Your montris of course are nonchalant, showing no remorse in spending your valuable tax bucks for their politicking, holidaying, dining and even when they play pilgrims. You can’t even call it valuable any longer considering the way it’s blown up, in this the latest example, all of Rs 72,00,144 spent to entertain so-called VIP’s between April 2008 and February 2010. For your information, the meaning of VIPs in Goa could be anything from a bunch of sarpanches to officials who came to the 26th Sub-Junior National Aquatic Championships. I did say sub-junior, that’s how underused your tax bucks are. Because you probably think your valuable tax money, ironically called ‘revenue expenditure’ in the lingua franca of government, is being spent on real development. You could also say misspent, but the word misspent like the word ‘development’ too has lost its meaning in Goa. I had almost forgotten, but there was also this little matter of Rs 29,83,639 that the Protocol Department spent on accommodation and food for all VIP’s visiting Goa. That’s a neat Rs 1,01,83,783 and cooking if you add the unpaid bills (explained below).

Let's Party Officially

On April 3, 2009 and twice on April 4 Digambar Kamat blew Rs 3,850, Rs 3,850 and Rs 10,135 on tea and snacks supplied by Kebab Corner at his little used official Altinho residence at what was described as “official meetings”. On May 26 he threw that aquatic championship bash which cost you Rs 50,000. The real shall we say beneficiary was Bhingi Caterer, Ponda. The next month, on June 7, Kamat hosted a dinner for so-called ‘dignitaries’ of the 2nd Marathi Film Festival, 2009 at the Goa Marriott. Cost: Rs 1,42,832. Let’s take a tea break here and try and understand the words ‘official’ ‘dignitary’ and ‘host’. In the jargon of government, ‘official’ means all-inclusive or all-embracing and no questions asked. ‘Dignitary’ well, if I explained that in writing it would need parental guidance for your reading. ‘Host’, in Goa, well, at least it does not mean someone who invites and entertains guests and pays for it. The Goa Marriott was the venue for his next dinner (July 13) in honour of the chairman and members of the 5th Western Region Consultation. Don’t ask. I haven’t a clue. Cost: Rs 43,705. He dined the Chief Secretary at the Taj Exotica on July 18 spending Rs 45,437 and hosted a “budget presentation” dinner at Taj Vivanta on July 24. Cost: Rs 23,285. For all the talking his ministers and Congress MLA’s did during the 12 working days of the Assembly Session from July 21-August 6, 2009, Kamat rewarded them with tea and snacks served up by Kebab Corner at a cost of Rs 72,000. He was back to entertaining the next day August 7, throwing a dinner at Cidade-de-Goa for Narendra Jadhav, member of the Planning Commission. Cost: Rs 62,357. Tea and snacks for god-knows-who on Independence Day at his official residence (no, not the Margao home, that’s his unofficial official residence). Cost to you: Rs 17,000. Provider: Kebab corner.

Party On

On August 30, he threw Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest and “others” a party that cost you Rs 1,00,689 at the Cidade-de-Goa. Obviously! While, I sincerely doubt Jairam Ramesh partook of the food with the same gusto as the “others”, I wager he was used more as a scapegoat for the shindig. Unfortunately we don’t get to know who went to the party but the environment must have been good. On September 1, Kamat offered his hardworking MLA’s tea and snacks at a Congress Legislature Party meet at Altinho. Cost: Rs 7,200. Provider: Kebab Corner. He dined Prema Cariappa, Chairperson, Central Social Welfare Board, Delhi at the Sun & Sand, Panjim on October 10 that cost Rs 28,153. The chosen one, the Cidade-de-Goa was again the venue (October 12) for a dinner for the Secretary, Information & Broadcasting. Cost: Rs 39,852. Then there was dinner (October 28) for newspaper editors at Hotel Mandovi that cost Rs 19,491 and dinner (November 2) for Justice Swatantar Kumar, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court at Hotel Vivanta that cost Rs 54,601.

……And On

Hotel Vivanta was ‘graced’ again by Kamat and his invitees on November 11, 2009, this time believe it or not, in honour of the Council of Young Political Leaders who toted up a tab of Rs 1,16,505. Perhaps they were unaware they were gobbling up your tax bucks. Google says this is an organization dedicated to promoting diplomacy and mutual understanding between cultures through exchanges such as these! What on earth were they doing in Goa? Kamat’s fave hotel, the Cidade-de-Goa was the venue for a costly jamboree in honour of delegates from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry during the International Film Festival of India closing on December 3, 2009. Cost: Rs 11,91,337. If you think that’s a lot of good money ill spent on a bunch of gatecrashers who have been coming every year, mull over this. Kamat blew Rs 1,04,419 on a do on board Noah’s Ark in honour of Prakash Jaiswal, the Union Minister of State for Home. I have no idea who the other party animals were but surely they, like Noah’s guests, must have been invited in pairs (male/female) not because the Mandovi threatened to flood; because Jaiswal alone couldn’t have consumed Rs 1,04,419worth of food and booze.

Till the cows come home

On February 1, 2010 Kamat hosted a dinner for Ajay Maken, the Union Minister for State for Home Affairs at Taj Vivanta. On February 12 a dinner for ‘dignitaries’ and speakers at the DD Kosambe Festival of Ideas at Cidade-de-Goa and on February 23, a lunch to host that so-called pre-budget consultation meeting again. To think they even have to gorge on chicken kebab just to break their heads on how to spend your tax bucks! The venue for this was NH-17, Porvorim. The bills for these are awaited and so I can’t share that with you yet.

The condensed month of February, 2010 ended with a Rs 71,500 dinner thrown at the Majorda Beach Resort for some unnamed invitees on February 26. There was no hiatus in Feb for him because the very next night Kamat had a do for the retiring Inspector General of Police KD Singh at the Park Hyatt. Bills awaited. That’s five parties in 28 days! Now Singh, if you remember is that cop who introduced Russian belly dancers to the Anjuna cops and only came to Goa to build his Porvorim home. What a farewell!



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