Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday distanced the State government from an FIR registered by the police against writer and former Dy. Speaker Vishnu Wagh, and his publisher Hema Naik, for alleged vulgar poetry.
“I believe in freedom of expression, one can write anything, but everything is subject to decisions by apex court and law,” said Mr. Parrikar on Friday.
Responding to a question about his government’s stand on the freedom of expression of Mr. Wagh, Mr. Parrikar at his post Cabinet press briefing said, “As far as registration of an FIR by police is concerned, the police followed the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court of India."
With his government facing flak for targeting the author of the anthology of poems titled ‘Sudhir Sukta,’ Mr. Parrikar clarified that his government had no role to play in the FIR filed against the poet, an ex-BJP MLA. The collection featured poems that were critical of Goa’s Gaud Saraswat Brahmin caste.
The book had been shortlisted for an award by the State-supported Goa Konkani Academy, but following the controversy which has divided the literary and political field of the State into camps supporting the freedom of expression of the writer and those which call it “casteist writings”, the government scrapped all 21 State literary awards, including the one for which ‘Sudhir Sukta’ was shortlisted for citing conflict of interest.
Giving an example of conflict of interest, Mr. Parrikar said that there were instances where those writers whose books had been short-listed for awards were also involved in the selection process for the State awards.
Seeking to clarify for the first time since the controversy over Mr. Wagh’s book erupted some months back, Mr. Parrikar also said that a section of the media did not project the issue properly, and even hinted that there could be vested interests at play. The FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by a woman activist AudaViegas from Margao, in South Goa.
“As far as the FIR (is concerned), again which has nothing to do with government, though some media at national level tried to hint that as if government has done something. We have to be very clear,” said Mr. Parrikar. He said that the police complaint was filed by activist Viegas who alleged that some of the poems were disrespectful to women.
“An FIR cannot be avoided. You go into the details, find out if law has been broken and take appropriate action if it is found that prima facie, there is a case. Based on that, the police on their own, took a decision. They sought the advice of the Additional Public Prosecutor. In fact you have to know that I(Chief Minister) cannot, and do not interfere with investigating officers,” Mr. Parrikar said.
'Sudhir Sukta' is a collection of poems written by Wagh, which took graphic pot-shots at Goa’s powerful Goud Saraswat Brahmin community.
Mr. Parrikar, while emphasising that he was in favour of preserving freedom of expression, but within the ambit of law, recalled that the said book of poetry was released by him in 2013 during his earlier stint as Chief Minister. Mr. Parrikar also happens to hail from the Saraswat community.
