TIME IS UP FOR THE BJP On 26th April Goa will join the nation in electing members to the 14th Lok Sabha. These elections will be keenly fought and are crucial for the future of this country. India today stands at cross roads and the electorate should pause and judiciously ponder before lasting their precious votes.
Goa may be sending just two representatives to the 542 member Lok Sabha but nonetheless it is vital that we make the right choice and lead the country and ensure that secularism returns to this great nation of ours. In Goa the BJP will play all the political games to divide the secular votes. They will prop and fund the fringe parties like the UGDP to split votes. This is something the voters will have to watch out for. The BJP is clear about its Hindutva vision. Let the Chief Minister tell us how many of the minority community have been recruited into Government service ever since he took over the reins of Goa. This Government has catered to the interests of one community and wherever possible a particular caste of that community. This must be definitely disturbing the great founding fathers of our nation even though they are in their eternal sleep. It is election time and Chief Minister Parrikar will try to appease and win over anyone by hook or crook. He has even dared to go all the way to the red light area at Vasco to lure the sex workers. Yes, India is shining with unemployment, rampant corruption, caste and religious atrocities and minority persecution. All the contracts and tenders that are being dished out are contractor friendly. A big slice obviously goes to the BJP kitty, which will spill out in crores at this election. The Congress regime in Goa was corrupt so is the current BJP outfit. But what this regime here and at the Centre has excelled is in saffronisation and communally tearing the country apart. It is something that has gradually and systematically being carried out and here susegad Goans have as usual shown high levels of indifference and tolerance. The Congress leaders saw to it that their personal wealth was amassed but the BJP rulers besides quietly stashing a fortune for themselves have also made sure their party coffers are enhanced unlike the Congress who after over a decade in office still hibernate from their dingy office at Panaji. Unless there are radical changes in our election laws the party in power will always have an edge in the elections. In preparations for the polls the Goa Government has transferred Government officials to make sure pliable officers are in place at all the relevant positions thus ensuring that the election process works to their advantage. We saw it all so blatantly during the last Goa Assembly elections. The feel good factor is deceiving. It is like the colony I live in at Ribandar, one of the biggest in Goa looked perfect initially. Today the walls are cracking and people are thirsting for water. Residents are inclined to move to a better place but I have no choice as Ribandar is my birthplace and I would rest in peace no where else. So that India Shining campaign is as deceiving as what things looked at our residential complex some time ago. The real colours can never be masked forever. What feel good factor is the Government bragging about? Erratic water and power supply failure continues. Rampant corruption goes unabated. In spite of all the computers and e-governance talked about the common man has bureaucratic nightmares at any department he goes to. Crime rate on the rise and dacoities galore could only make the lawbreakers feel great. After 57 years of Independence, our country has not matured. This is no reason to allow a very unsteady 79-year-old to lead this nation. We speak of empowering the young and the women. So why not give Atalalji the rest he so meritoriously deserves. We have had enough of him. Election time is also migration time and party hopping season. We will see disgruntled and ticket less party men migrating to better pastures. Principles and ideals go to the dogs as politics is a game of survival and unless you show flexibility and are unprincipled you may miss the bus in today's scenario. Life is getting tougher by the day and this concept is applicable in all walks of life. Our own Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni who was appointed by earlier Sardinha regime survived the change in Government for the very special skills that he has been blessed with. The BJP may have its secret agenda, which by now is no longer so secret. What the Opposition lacks is a strategy to match the BJP. The saffron master strategists are doing a commendable job. The BJP is a very communal but disciplined party. They adorn the Khaki shorts at short notice when called upon and so comfortably display their thighs in these RSS outfits. Panjim may look spruced up and all decorated. But one has to see the long-term damage being done to Goa by Mr. Parrikar brain-washing us with some cosmetic improvements. Parrikar has many questions to answer. He has broken all rules and shown the rarest of flexibility to accommodate the saffrons in all sections of administration. Mr. Parrikar has bowed, bent and hopelessly stooped to all lowly levels to implement his political agenda. Goa as the venue for the next International Film Festival of India is another fast one he has pulled on gullible Goans. The earlier skybus dream was a wet one. It would be nice if those in power had got their priorities right rather than making cheap populist announcements. They should instead provide people with the basic amenities of life. Chief Minister Parrikar's attempt to scrap five public holidays including Good Friday and the Feast of St Francis Xavier exposes the evil communal designs of the BJP. The Chief Minister issued the notification but sensing trouble, made an over-night U-turn but did not show statesmanship by apologizing to the people of Goa for having conceived such a wicked thought. This act of the Chief Minister only reinforces one's feeling that the Chief Minister is not an "intelligent" person, as he claims to be. Every issue needs to be decided after proper application of mind and due deliberation and consultation. The Chief Minister should not try and bulldoze his saffron aspirations onto the Goan population. Mr. Parrikar has mustered the art of taking cover when in trouble. Parrikar had earlier tried to cancel Gandhi Jayanti as a holiday showing scant respect to the Father of the Nation. Under the BJP rule the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the police authorities have lost their independence. It is no secret that most investigating authorities succumb to the whims and fancies of those in Power. It is nice to see the veteran Dr Wilfred D'Souza having realised late than never the venom of the BJP. Recently, he has been speaking his heart. He was well advised to surrender that position of Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission (post of cabinet rank) dished out by crafty Parrikar to keep the doctor in good cheer. The other one who is still not awakening to reality or at least pretending not to, is the vociferous leader of yester years Mathany Saldanha who for reasons best known to him is safely tamed, tuned and caged by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. So much is being said about the Uttar Pradesh leader Mr. D.P Yadav who has been charged with extortion and murder and for having been welcomed into the BJP only to be flushed out a couple of days later. A Minister in the Goa Government who not long ago was embraced into the BJP has also a whole pile of cases of extortion against him. So much for the party with a difference that the BJP claims to be. Murders and daylight dacoities have become a regular phenomenon in this previously tranquil state of ours. Over the years Goa has been projected as the key tourist destination of the country. Has the time come to let the world also know that Goa is also the safest place to commit crimes and get away with them if you can befriend a Minister or an influential politician? Free and unfettered debate is the key to the success of our democratic institutions. Therefore at no cost should Parrikar continue to stifle the voice of dissent and constructive criticism, as otherwise he would never be able to keep track of the sentiments of his electorate. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar shows no consistency in the way he speaks and acts. He had announced that the Government's work force would be pruned because a small state like Goa can manage with a work force of 38,000 government employees. This is another empty statement and will fool no one. How does he justify the thousands of Saffrons he has recruited into government service ever since the BJP took over the reins? The Government had vowed that no extensions would be given to Government employees after retirement age. But Mr. Parrikar has been obliging the chosen few. He has extended the service of his chums. The Chief Minister has urged journalists not to be corrupt. This is the height of hypocrisy from a Chief Minister who is solely responsible for the current state of the Goan Press. He has left no stone unturned to suppress the Goan Press. The majority of the Goan Press has been manipulated by the whims and wishes of Mr. Parrikar. Freedom of the Press does not exist and Mr. Parrikar knows this better than anyone else and should be honest enough to admit to this. In preparation of the last stage-managed Goa Assembly elections Parrikar astutely announced the Dayanad Social Security Scheme. The scheme was not transparent. Applications forms were only available from the MLAs, in particular the ruling BJP ones. It was obvious that it was an election gimmick to wow the saffron voters with a scheme Mr. Parrikar knew would not be sustainable in the long run. The scheme was well timed and fine-tuned to ensure that the BJP candidates could distribute the Rs 500 cheques to the beneficiaries on election eve. As of today the cheques are still being distributed by the BJP leaders. Why? It is election time and a new project is being announced everyday. Contracts at overpriced rates are being doled out in a hurry to BJP chums. Shabby incomplete projects are seen everywhere. How solid is the value of the works being undertaken is a matter that time will tell. Let development everywhere not be mere eyewash. Let the mango season, which should be around polling day not distract us. Otherwise we may be sucking thumbs for times to come. With the elections round the corner we will be pampered with new schemes and promises. Let us take the blinkers off and look down the tunnel to see what lies ahead. Temporary and short-term cosmetic touches should not fool us. All that glitters is not gold. We may be one of the most literate states but come election time we do not hesitate to be in Laloo or Mulayam's land where money, muscle and every other temptation rules the roost. Aires Rodrigues Ribandar ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
