goanet-digest Tuesday, May 14 2002 Volume 01 : Number 3963
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In this issue:
[Goanet] HERALD: Political Tunes
[Goanet] Did you ever know...
[Goanet] GOAN POLITICS
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Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 14:37:02 +0530
From: "Frederick Menezes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] HERALD: Political Tunes
www.oherald.com dated May 14, 2002
POLITICAL TUNES
Chaotic scenes at Cong House
CONGRESS HOUSE witnessed chaotic scenes this Monday morning. Favourites
among the aspirants to the four assembly constituencies, had all gathered at
the office and awaiting their fate with bathed breath.
At 11.05 am the office received a fax from Delhi suppose to have the four
candidates� names of which only three were readable � Trajon D�Mello
(Saligao), Premnath Maulingkar (Tivim) and Armindo Braganza (Mapusa).
The fourth name though printed was illegible. Former MP John Fernandes
called up Delhi only to be told by State incharge Ramesh Chennithala that he
was trying to re-fax the copy but was not succeeding.
Meanwhile Francis Fernandes who was camping in Delhi for the last few days
and had emerged as a strong contender for the Siolim seat, appeared jittery
and sweating all over.
Little did the officials in the Congress House realise that the fax in the
Congress House was devoid of paper role and was the cause of problems for
all and sundry.
Only when the hitch was rectified the fresh fax copy came through did
Francis Fernandes walked out of the office with his head high and his
beaming wife in tow.
Trajon Saligao women�s man!
ITS A MAN�S WORLD they say. But for Trajon D�Mello and his Saligao Block
Congress, the women mean everything or atlest it seemed to be. When most of
the candidates who came to file nomination, at the Deputy Collector�s office
in Mapusa, had men as majority of their supporters, Trajon had the women.
Infact this diarist overheard Trajon ordering one of his aide, "arre, tea
bailank hoir apoi re," (hey, call the women up, in the deputy collector�s
office) as he was about to file his nomination papers.
And up they did come, and stayed put for more than three hours, until Trajon
did his job!
Cong contender hurt
SOME WERE BRIMMING with joy, while some were sorrowing. Sangeeta Parab the
top Congress contender in Mandrem till Friday, appeared most hurt, as she
was seen complaining to each and every Congress candidate at the deputy
collector�s office, Mapusa, the treatment meted by the Congress bigwigs in
the State and at the Centre.
"I have always been loyal to the party and this is what I get," she said to
one, in a choked voice. "Till Saturday morning, my name was on top of the
list. And this traitor (Ramakant Khalap) walks-in and walks-out with
honours," she bemoaned. "Though I am filing my nomination as an Independent,
I am still a Congress worker and will remain so," Ms Sangeeta said almost in
tears.
While Sangeeta�s was a tale of woe, for Jeetendra Deshprabhu, from Pernem it
was time to show his strength. Deshprabhu had ferried a bus-load of
supporters, the largest amongst all, who had come to file their nominations.
Mr Deshprabhu sported a big smile throughout his presence in the deputy
collector�s office.
Armindo Braganza the Mapusa candidate was the most excited of the lot. He
was spotted hugging each and every person who approached to congratulate
him. A taste of his exuberance came when this diarist and a reporter from
the vernacular press received a warm hug from Armindo, much to their
embarrassment.
Last comes first
Nobody knows what the criterion of the Congress was in selecting candidates.
Perhaps when it came to nominating �defectors�, it appears they went by who
jumped (joined them) last. Because, Jose Philip D�Souza who was the first
minister to resign from the Parrikar government, was not considered for the
ticket. The others who were either dropped from the cabinet or resigned,
found favours with the High Command. These included Sanjay Bandekar,
Ramakant Khalap and finally Ravi Naik to top it all.
And what surprised everyone was announcement of their candidature as their
joining the party was not made public. Tickets were being given even before
they had joined the party.
Congress and caste politics
If BJP is being accused of being communal, Congress will take the cake for
being casteist, at least in one constituency. Not that political parties do
not believe in caste equations. They always do. But here it was abundantly
clear when it was made public.
How did the name of former MGP chief Surendra Sirsat come in the picture as
a prospective candidate? Had he joined the Congress? It was not important
for the Congress whether the principal of a higher secondary school had been
with the party or not. He had some well-wishers and they had lobbied for
him.Was Congress bankrupt for candidates in Mapusa?
At that time, the Congress had at least five aspirants for Mapusa ticket.
The sole reasoning behind Congress initially agreeing for Sirsat was that he
belongs to the caste none of the other aspirants belong to. The caste which
is predominant in Mapusa - Vaishya . In the last two elections too, the
Congress had gone by the same vaishya samaj factor. It was only when the
Congress leaders threatened to revolt, that the Congress High Command
changed the decision.
People�s mandate and defectors
After a hue and cry against �defectors�, it is to be seen whether the
�defectors� would be shown the door or not. The Congress has done it once
again. They can�t do without them. They have rewarded all defectors and
scamstars who showed winnability in them.
The Church has also come out with a advice to its flock: to keep away
corrupt, communalist and defectors. However, quite a many from those who
wanted the perennial defectors out, are finding them tolerable. "After all,
they have done lot of development in the constituency. This seems to be the
justification to bring back the �defectors� to the Goa assembly. Ajib hai
Goa ke log. This may once again come true for Goans. Watch out on the
results day.
Tailpiece
I
Everything is fair in love and war
So, what is wrong with Ravi?
Even if he �was once� communal,
He is still a Bhandari
II
The lotus is saffron
The hand demands a ton
The watch is all false gilt
The leaves are in state of wilt
The light house is dim
The sickle�s chances grim
The lion is toothless
And the voter, clueless.
_________________________________________________________________
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Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 02:56:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: JoaquimAlmeida <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] Did you ever know...
Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a
sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone
you care for...THAT'S GOD... He talks to you through
the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be
around for you to talk to... THAT'S GOD... He wants
you to talk to HIM.
Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you
haven't seen in a long time and then next thing you
know you see them or receive a phone call from them...
THAT'S GOD... there is no such thing as "coincidence."
Have you ever received something wonderful that you
didn't even ask for, like money in the mail, a debt
that had mysteriously been cleared, or a coupon to a
department store where you had just seen something you
wanted, but couldn't afford... THAT'S GOD... He knows
the desires of your heart...
Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue
how it is going to get better, but now you look back
on it... THAT'S GOD... He passes us through
tribulation to see a brighter day...
Do you think that this e-mail was accidentally sent to
you? Nope! I was thinking of all of you my dear
brothers and sisters on GoaWorld,Goancauses and
Goanet.
share the Power of GOD... In all that we do, we should
totally give HIM thanks and our blessings will
continue to multiply. "For with God, nothing shall be
impossible." Luke 1:37
__________________________________________________
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Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 16:41:28 -0700
From: "Francisco Leitao" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] GOAN POLITICS
GOAN POLITICS
Goans go to the polls and have to decide to vote for national or regional parties,
corrupt or clean candidates.
How does our vote count? Where do Goans go wrong? Is the system failing us?
What happens when we vote for national parties?
These strangers from Delhi keep bullying us by throwing corrupt candidates on our
face every election. Their justification is winability and not credibility. How do
they win?
At a political level, illiteracy makes a mockery of the democratic process by
creating an oligarchy composed of some educated elite along with some goon elements.
At a personal level, illiteracy means subjection to an economic and political
marginalization, in short the exploitation of one of the most vulnerable in society.
If one is unable to read newspapers, they have to accept the second hand report of
literate people around them. Unable to understand political debate, they judge on the
basis of appearance rather than issues.
An illiterates' mind may be won, by booze, money or fear. This is why the
conscious vote does not count in our style of democracy. Having said this, the virus
has not spread to all of Goa yet, and we do have some good politicians but they find
it difficult running a government.
We have the BJP that has performed well in Goa in the last year and a half under
given circumstances. There was more accountability in government and the middle class
was happy. The only worry is for the minority, after what is happening in Gujarat but
there does not seem to be a communal element in Goa-BJP.
The Congress is the most corrupt party in Goa. I am not sure if this party makes
the people of Goa laugh or cry. There has been scam after scam over the years by the
same Congress candidates now in election.. They have no respect for the Goan
conscious. It is evident they have a reputation to stoop low with no foresight on the
party's image. It is difficult to find why the minority vote goes to the Congress,
although this does not translate into any significant gain to the minority.
Even if Congress may have more elected candidates in the assembly at this
election, the instability within the Congress party that is high will find it
difficult to form a government. In comparison to this, the combined political parties
will have much more stability then the Congress alone in forming a government.
In the local arena we have the UGDP. Can we take this party seriously?
After being elected, these candidates disappear from the UGDP radar. Usually they
are easily bought or given a cabinet berth by parties forming government.
This is only a vocal voice heard at election time.
The MAP is our hope on the regional front. They have given us our first CM who is
the best we have had. Although I think this party has to refurbish its' image,
starting with the name and add new blood to be the force that it once used to be.
We continue to have failure in our infrastructure: our water-management failure,
our roads and public transport are in bad shape and we have constant power cuts that
make our basic living difficult. In the last decade or two, most of our elected
candidates had prospered along with their choice of infrastructure contractors. They
have amassed wealth during the time of Goan suffering. How do we get this wealth back
to the Goan public?
Given our political equation, my best bet is to give our present CM the job, to
form a government with the lesser of all evils from various parties. He is the only
shinning light, in Goa's time of darkness.
He did start welfare in a broadly, for the first time in India. Giving social
insurance to the old who have no source of income is an excellent first step in his
short term in office. His other idea to save life on our roads with the introduction
of GATES is an excellent concept.
Here is a person, with a difference, a person with a brain and heart for the good
of the individual.
I am sure if he is gets a chance, he will have many more schemes to secure the
health of our state and security to its' people.
FRANCISCO LEITAO
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End of goanet-digest V1 #3963
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