Buy one, take three! Like political parties, Dr. Oscar Rebello has once again fallen back on the most trusted weapon handed down by the Britishers, namely the communal and regional labelling. Dr. Oscar in the Herald (30/12/2009) has falsely accused me and Rajan of baying for the blood of muslims, migrants and foreigners. Having been cornered with one lie, he now spills three more. We are definitely not in league with modern medical terrorists that have set shop in Goa. Some of us have been the target of relentless abuses and attacks in GBA for cautioning against unconditional cooperation with the Government on the Task Force and later on the draft RP 2021. The Goanet archives since 2007 are witness to my concerns about GBA's unholy alliance with the ruling dispensation. I have been accused of bringing the dissent within GBA into public domain. But I believe that GBA being a people's movement, transparency and accountability are necessary. Three years later we stand vindicated with the former Convenor of GBA publicly acknowledging the nexus. His latest letter to Editor in Herald only reconfirms it. Firstly, the three choices before GBA as pointed out by Dr. Oscar are not true. One could well cooperate with any government by putting forward conditions, in this case conditions about the shape of a Regional Plan for Goa. Did GBA do that? Does GBA have its blue print on the type of Regional Planning process that must be in place for Goa? If it has one let the public know about it. What has happened to the decisions on the type of RP process for Goa taken at a workshop in August 2007? Was it indigestable for those with vested interests in real estate? What more does one need to prove when some GBA elements publicly declare that the people have no say in land-use planning? Secondly, GBA being a mass movement never had the need to join an opposition party to oppose the Government. In fact it was the other way round. There are so many groups in Goa which are not aligned to any opposition political party but yet oppose the Government. So where did GBA's consideration about joining the opposition party to oppose the Government stem from? Does Dr. Oscar imply that the anti-RP2011 apolitical movement of GBA had the backing of the oppositon parties? If no, then this second option that confronted GBA clearly points out there was an underlying compulsion in some leaders to align with the ruling dispensation and some excuse had to be created. The third option before GBA of going for the blood of migrants, muslims and foreigners is only a creation of imagination of Dr. Oscar to cover up the treachery, as this aspect has no relation whatsoever with the process of preparing a RP 2021. From where did GBA's option to go after the muslims, migrants and foreigners suddenly come from after june 2007? Was it the fear within ruling politicians that their migrant vote bank interests would be harmed if a sound RP 2021 was put in place which prompted their moles in GBA to rake up this excuse. There is little doubt now that the interests people of Goa were compromised by some leaders of GBA to favour the Government and real estate interests. The days to come will reveal the naked truth on RP 2021. But it may be too late for gullible Goans who blindly follow faces marketed by Goa's ever conniving industrialists.
