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---- As usual, the Goan patrakars make the most
mischief for their daily bread ----- AlmeidaG(ji)
Parrikar denies poaching opposition MLAs
NT Staff Reporter
Panaji Oct 25: The Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar
today denied that he was �poaching� Opposition MLAs in
order to keep himself in power.
He was reacting to certain comments made by the state
Governor, Mr S C Jamir in an interview with a national
English daily with regard to the induction of Mr
Isidore Fernandes into the Bharatiya Janata Party. The
newspaper quoted Mr Jamir as saying, �I have
specifically told the CM not to make a mockery of
democracy and had warned him that if he continues the
unholy politics as seen in Poinguinim... I will
certainly dissolve the House.�
Mr Parrikar told The Navhind Times: �The Governor was
made to reply to a loaded question.�
Mr Jamir had told in his interview: �I have strong
opinions on political horsetrading and will not
tolerate such moves and will then have to dissolve the
House.� Mr Parrikar denied any such moves and said
that his government was �constitutionally very strong�
and would easily complete the rest of its tenure.
Mr Parrikar said Mr Fernandes had declared his
intention of leaving the Congress party in the first
week of August and he joined the BJP on August 20,
which had provided sufficient time for the Congress
leaders to convince him.
�The fact that they failed to convince Mr Fernandes
during the two week period clearly shows that there
were serious differences between him and the Congress
party,� Mr Parrikar said.
�Under such circumstances, how can anyone blame the
BJP for forcing Mr Fernandes to leave the Congress
Party?� he said. According to him the BJP can no more
guarantee a party ticket to any Opposition MLA if he
resigns and wishes to join the BJP.
Mr Parrikar said he had never used a particular modus
operandi for his political move more than once. �My
style of functioning is that I operate in a different
way each time.�
He said the Bommai case allowed for expression of
faith in the state assembly and ensured that the floor
of the House was the most appropriate place for
testing the strength of a government. As such, the
judgment was in favour of his government, he said.
Mr Parrikar said the Governor had reacted to a
question which was structured on a premise which was
completely untrue. �Mr Jamir expressed his anguish
regarding the situation,� he said.
-
Read on ----
CM Parrikar�s Four Eventful Years
by Nandkumar Kamat
THE fifth year of the Chief Minister of Goa, Mr
Manohar Parrikar begins from today. The past four
years have been interestingly eventful. Mr Parrikar
has made his moves very well. The CM is still
constrained by not having a fully BJP government. The
present alliance with the UGDP and the MGP is a
coalition of temporary convenience. It is not based on
any common minimum programme. The picture has changed
after the NDA lost power in Delhi. Now the loyalties
of neo-BJP elements would be very suspect.
Mr Parrikar has set for himself certain personal goals
to achieve in his remaining tenure, till May 2007. He
has his eyes on the pages of future history. His first
year of rule saw the dissolution of the assembly and
his brief role as the caretaker CM. The second year
witnessed political compromises with the UGDP and the
MGP. The last two years have been very turbulent with
numerous controversies, which could have unnerved any
other person in his place. Initially Mr Parrikar
appeared hypersensitive to the public criticism, which
is unavoidable in politics. He used to get irritated
by baseless allegations. The media also built up his
image as a self-righteous, intelligent �know all and
end all� politician.
In party circles he reportedly created an air of
intellectual superiority and invincibility. He showed
that he is second to none in physical and intellectual
endurance. The opposition shied away from his
challenges to debate certain issues openly on public
platforms. He was exceptionally brilliant inside the
legislative assembly and handled the business of the
government very efficiently winning the appreciation
and loyalty from his cabinet colleagues and MLAs. He
is the first CM to have read all-important
legislations of the state. In his first two years he
trained himself about the fine aspects of
administrative matters. He could see for himself the
tremendous revenue leakage that was bleeding the state
of Goa. The opposition has never given him the credit
of increasing the state revenue without burdening the
common people. He faced the harshest criticism over
the IFFI preparations but to rub salt in the wounds of
his critics, the central government gave the green
signal to host the IFFI.
Much had been said about the completion of the Fatorda
stadium in a record duration of nine months. But four
giant multiplexes were completed within just seven
months and an unique piece of structural engineering �
the Aldona-Corjuem steel suspension bridge was built
much before the scheduled date of completion.
The Goa that is being developed and being gifted with
infrastructural projects is the official Goa known to
the Chief Minister. There is still another Goa, which
would continue to mock at him and challenge his
authority. This Goa runs a parallel economy. This Goa
does not care for the state and its powers. It runs
its government on petroleum adulteration joints. It
flies its flag in Anjuna�s flea market and the �disco
valley�. The residents of this Goa pay hefty kickbacks
to organize moonlight parties where drugs are openly
traded. This Goa runs a sophisticated flesh trade.
This Goa encourages foreigners without business visas
to set their shops here and buy local properties. This
Goa champions gambling � the onshore or the offshore
type. This Goa is a free market for bogus institutions
to operate without any governmen t watch or controls.
This Goa offers all types of illegal services at a
price including domicile certificates for taking the
benefit of the governments housing scheme.
There is still another Goa, which has lost all hopes
of recovery. For past 12 years, the 50 salt producer
families from Agarwado in Morajim, on the banks of
Chapora river have been crying for help. The external
agorpoim bundh which used to protect their 16 salt
pans has been damaged. Their salt pans have been
flooded. Many representations were made. Many
inquiries and inspections were done. But for some
strange reasons the government has not been able to
repair this bundh and restore the traditional,
sustainable livelihood of these families. This is just
one example for the CM who is also the chairman of
GSIDC. It may be important to create new jobs but it
is much more important to protect and promote the
existing employment. The government has taken some
laudable steps to promote the Goan handicrafts and
artisanship but much more remains to be done. Mr
Parrikar undertook �Mission Salcete� but now he needs
to focus on a new mission � �mission village Goa�. He
needs to visit the 57 villages of fishermen, the 88
villages with Khazan lands which are partially or
totally ruined, some of the 110 hamlets of
agropastoral Dhangar/ Gouly community- to get a first
hand knowledge of their problems. Extending social
security benefits is one measure but economic
empowerment of these communities is a permanent
solution. Another dose of land reforms is required to
take possession of all uncultivated tenanted lands and
extend the benefits of land ownership to the marginal
farmers such as the horticulturists and
floriculturists.
The next 30 months would be crucial for Mr Parrikar to
prioritise his agenda which had an urban and
infrastructural emphasis so far. He needs to go for a
minor cabinet reshuffle before the next assembly
session on basis of performance evaluation of his
ministers. Otherwise there is likely to be stagnation
in many government departments which are suffering due
to poor leadership. The promise of e-governance is
still a distant dream. Goa does not figure anywhere in
the national picture. In his fifth year of the rule
the CM needs to ensure that all the major departments
are brought under e-governance and all the village
panchayat offices and municipalities are fully
computerized. It is the duty of the government to
implement the official language act in letter and
spirit. Every state in India has its official gazette
in the official language of that state. The exception
is Goa where English is still the de facto official
language. The government must publish the official
gazette in both Marathi and Konkani language.
All the major acts, preferably the Goa Panchayati Raj
Act, the Tenancy Act, the Town and Country Planning
Act need to be translated and the Marathi and Konkani
versions be made available to local people at nominal
costs. That would really empower the people of Goa. No
government has really cared for slum improvement
programmes. If this is done in an organized manner in
the next 30 months then Goa would be a slum free state
in India. But we are not sure which Goa would have
priority on the CM�s list in the fifth year of his
rule.
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