GULF-GOANS e-NEWSLETTER (since 1994)
Selecting Mr Right: A Goan Dilemma Surveying the dismal political scenario in Goa, JOE D'SOUZA searches desperately for the right candidate The conscience-keepers of our society say that we must cast our votes. Sermons, made ostensibly by religious leaders, implore us to vote for the right candidate. Then we have self-proclaimed experts, mediapersons and members of the fourth estate, who try to impress upon us the need to vote for a secular candidate who is not a goonda and is corruption-free and an astute politician. The list of candidates is out and, as a research scientist, I have tried to analytically discover for myself as to who is the Mr Right for whom I should cast my precious vote. The more I analyse and reflect, the more confused I feel. We have a party and its candidates who swear by the aam aadmi campaign. But going by its activities, it has done everything possible to destroy Goa and Goans. In Goa, we have to “watch†the “handâ€, as it means double-trouble for the aam aadmi. The rampant hill-cutting, the garbage imbroglio and the rise in AIDS and cancer are just the beginning of the long, unending list of our problems. Forget about the present economic meltdown. The sale of Goa for a song, in the name of Special Economic Zones and dubious food parks, is just the tip of the iceberg. The final nail in the coffin is the assertion by the spokesperson of the aam aadmi party that casinos in Goa generate income, employment and prosperity! Well, I can now understand why AIDS, rapes, murders, etc are growing menacingly in Goa. The spokesperson will assert that the uncontrolled growth of AIDS has resulted in employment for thousands of workers in NGOs as well as in government hospitals. If AIDS is brought under control, at least 50,000 migrants, alongwith the locals, would be rendered jobless, and the aam aadmi government would not be able to perform its sacred duty of spending crores on ‘social causes’ – although we hear that almost all money meant to control AIDS is misutilised, misdirected and usurped by the governmental machinery, politicians and the middleman in charge of the AIDS awareness programme. We now know that the aam aadmi government is not in the least bothered about the welfare of the state, but only in generating dubious employment and conning as well as blackmailing the common man into believing that it is committed to the welfare of society. Roads are built in such a way that with one spell of monsoon showers we see potholes, with jobs in garages growing. Problems are created in order that employment is generated. We find religious fanatics, who use the media and mislead society by unilaterally declaring that the aam aadmi party is secular. Some wise men declare that it provides employment and also protects the dubious elements working on the casinos or in the hotel industry. “It is better to have corruption rather than communalism,†they say. Actually, corrupt individuals are more dangerous than terrorists, because terrorists only target a section of society, whereas corrupt politicians destroy the basic fabric of society, its values, and its economic backbone. I can tackle communal elements head on: the martyrs down the ages have shown us the way to stand up to communal elements. However, I am totally at sea as to how to tackle the wolves in sheep’s clothing, who claim they are secular and do every deed that is morally disastrous, including the promotion of casinos, bullfights, land grabs, and the utter destruction of environment in the name of economic prosperity and employment. Then there is another party which claims that it is different, but essentially carries out policies not very different from the aam aadmi party as soon as it tastes power. It clearly asserts that government is an “ongoing process†and that the policies of the previous government cannot be wished away. While the prices of onions were rising to the levels of Rs 40 per kg, this “feel good factor†party started spending crores of rupees declaring that India was shining. For the aam aadmi, this party only raised prices of LPG, allowed the River Princess to haunt us, and emptied the pockets of the common man by raising taxes. As a result of their rightist policies, they helped the rich grow richer, while the common man had nothing but the fear of rising communal riots and segregation. Finally, we have the Third Front and the leftist parties, together with the local brigade. If there is any disunity in the so-called ‘United Third Front’, it is in the regional parties in Goa. Hunting with the hounds and running with the hares is what local parties in Goa have done. In the name of saving Goa from the menace of national parties, local outfits have seen their representatives playing hot and cold with the national outfits, depending upon the direction the wind is blowing at the national level. Our greedy local leaders have jumped in and out of alliances with the very national forces they have opposed, and after they had won the people’s trust and mandate. The jumping chickens at the local level, together with the unrealistic ambitions of the Communists in Goa, have made the Third Front in Goa an unreliable alternative, which specialises in distributing tickets to aspirants, with absolutely no control over their candidates once the election is over. Nobody takes upon himself the task of identifying who is the right candidate. Social action groups, which often lead the masses into various agitations against illegalities and the anti-people policies of politicians, wish to remain “apoliticalâ€. Nobody from civil society or religious outfits wants to be the symbol of change they would like to see. It is disappointing to see fakirs, priests, sadhus, industrialists and professionals condemning political parties during their five years of misrule and then canvassing for these corrupt individuals, who see nothing beyond casinos, bullfights and land grabs once the elections are over. There are many voters who would like to exercise their franchise against those listed on the ballot paper, but sadly they remain at home as they do not have the right to vote “against†a candidate. Negative voting today seems to be a pipedream. Give us the opportunity to declare that there is no suitable candidate on the ballot paper, since the leaders of “apolitical†groups have failed to identify and tell the people as to who the right candidate is. We have been fighting the system for the last 48 years, because we are either electing the wrong people or are blind to the fact that we term popular politicians finding favour with the masses as goondas or cheats. Those who can, go ahead and do the job, while those who cannot, only preach. Without knowing or addressing the ground realities, we cannot win the trust of the masses. We get the government we deserve. We are not interested in developing skills in technology and are averse to hard work and. We do not believe in value addition to our resources. We are contended with being waiters, clerks, receptionists, shuffling cards on a gambling table or agents in the process of selling Goa’s natural resources through tertiary activities in mining and tourism. Can we aspire to anything better for the Goa of tomorrow in election 2009? Could Christopher Fonseca be the Mr Right for Goa? Only time will tell. http://www.oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=20206&cid=14 _ Goa-World.Com Team wouldn't agree more. Indeed it is a Goan Dilemma and for the Goans living overseas (specially those in the Gulf region) it is still more tragic that they cannot be there to vote and all those who make 'noises' in cyber Goan spaces do not even have the 'right to vote' and most, if not all, are without even having a 'voter's card' to do it if they have the inclination to go and be there to 'vote'. Moderator, Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter (since 1994) SAY A LITTLE PRAYER FOR A WELL-WISHER & FRIEND OF GOA-WORLD TEAM Goa World Goa Mog Goa SuRaj Super Goa (em Português) TGF Writers' Sketchpad www.colaco.net www.goa-world. .com/goa/ music/ - The Online Music Station for KONKANI Mahableshwar http://www.mahables hwar.com St. Mary's School - Mt Abu, Rajasthan India http://www.abusms. com EXPRESSIONS - THE FLOWER SHOP http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/ http://www.w3.org/2006/10/SSML/papers/paper.pdf GOA MAG ONLINE http://www.goamag.net http://www.renewalsetc.com/renewals.htm SAY A LITTLE PRAYER FOR A WELL-WISHER & FRIEND OF GOA-WORLD TEAM Goa World Goa Mog Goa SuRaj Super Goa (em Português) TGF Writers' Sketchpad www.colaco.net www.goa-world. .com/goa/ music/ - The Online Music Station for KONKANI Mahableshwar http://www.mahables hwar.com St. Mary's School - Mt Abu, Rajasthan India http://www.abusms. com EXPRESSIONS - THE FLOWER SHOP http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/ http://www.w3.org/2006/10/SSML/papers/paper.pdf GOA MAG ONLINE http://www.goamag.net http://www.renewalsetc.com/renewals.htm
