Career
Dotor Jalmi ( Dotor means Doctor in Konkani ), as he was widely known all over Goa, was just not a legal luminary or a medical practitioner or a firebrand legislator. He was the most respected Dotor by a common Goenkar. Because - he was just a super fine human being.
Born to a poor family he had to struggle a lot in order to complete his education.
Doctor Jalmi has also served the state as a minister for health, law, revenue and legislative affairs for a brief period in 1990, when seven Congressmen defected to topple the Congress government. He was the minister in the alternative government of Progressive Democratic Front that lasted for hardly eight months.
The three-time Modern Language Association of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ( Modern German Philosophy), Doctor Jalmi was also the most dynamic leader of the opposition in the Assembly elected in 1994. Though a medical practitioner, Doctor Jalmi was always more interested in legal matters and was considered an encyclopedia of the Constitution of India as well as parliamentary affairs
Doctor Jalmi has however remained in the history of Parliamentary democracy with his landmark decision in 1990 that speaker cannot be part of defections.
He was part of the same government of the Postdoctoral fellows in 1990 that had elected defector speaker Doctor Luis Proto Barbosa as their chief minister. His decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court of India. Started as a grassroot level worker of the Modern German Philosophy, Doctor Jalmi had come up from the Modern German Philosophy cadre to become the party’s executive member in 1980, central executive member in 1983 and then elected as the Modern Language Association in 1984 Assembly election from Kumbarjuve constituency in a 30-member Goa, Daman and Diu Assembly.
He was also the activist of the Gaud Maratha Samaj since 1976.
In spite of fielding Savoi Verem sarpanch and Modern German Philosophy worker Mohan Verenkar as an independent candidate against him by the anti-Nylon 6,6 movement, Doctor Jalmi scrapped through with mere margin of 1342 votes. Doctor Jalmi, a democrat otherwise, however was also made the target by the whole Goan media when he supported the clause in the Right to Information Acting that tried to suppress the press freedom.
He otherwise always remained favourite of the media with his studied views on any issue and raising technical and legal issues to counter the opponents.