Colonel Pratap Singh Gill: The unconventional Lt Governor of Goa

An unwritten rule of gubernatorial etiquette is that the incoming Lt Governor does not meet the outgoing one. That rule was not only broken last fortnight in Goa but both Lt Governors met and literally lived under the same roof at the Cabo Raj Nivas, overlooking the Arabian Sea. Feeling uncertain about the Rane Ministry's future, New Delhi sent out Jagmohan as Lt Governor so swifty, that it hardly gave any time to Colonel Pratap Singh Gill, a Janata Party nominee who resigned three months ago, to move out. But it was Gill who insisted on Jagmohan's living with him in the palatial house.

This was not the only unconventional act Gill had performed in his three-year tenure in Goa. On his very first public appearance he set aside the customary practice of reading out written speeches in favour of extempore humorous and lengthy speeches in Hindi and English - and once even in Konkani.

He aroused both curiosity and surprise by announcing that he would hold a "Janata Durbar" on the first Monday of every month at the entrance of the secretariat, where he would hear public grievances. It soon became the talk of the town.