Joke played on us by the Election Commission
By Nisser Dias
nisserdias at gmail.com
SMS to 9422437029
This week the Election Commission of India seems to have played a cruel
joke on the people of this country by raising the election expenditure
limit of the candidate from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 8 lakhs for the assembly
election 2012. My readers might feel that raise is justifiable or still
less given the rise in inflation. But I would like to look at it in
differently keeping Goan politicians in mind.
Let me start by saying that Rs. 8 lakhs is simple change or rather
chicken feed for our politicians especially those in power. While the
ruling dispensation ministers and MLAs have amassed ill gotten wealth to
the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees. I do not think that the
opposition are lagging far behind simply because the party has its
dedicated sponsorers and given the fact that majority of Goans (for some
it has become a way of life) are fed up with the scale of corruption
that ministers in this government have indulged, the oppositions thinks
it has a good chance to come to power using corruption as the platform
during the election campaign.
Be that as it may, but firstly let us try to refresh our minds the modus
operendi adopted by the ministers to amass wealth. Fews months prior to
the 2006 assembly elections, during Pratapsing Rane's government Town
and Country Planning department under the reigns of Babush Monserrate
now Education minister came out with the draconian regional plan 2011 to
facilitate real estate developers and out station builders to construct
mega housing projects in huge properties already purchased by them.
Without a shade of doubt in my mind, I can say that the Monserrate was
not naive about the issue or did it in good faith as he surely knows the
worth of land in Goa and also the worth of the Delhi and Bombay based
builders. Then Babush was detained at the Bombay International airport
with assortment of currency worth more than a crore of rupees. For a
minister who carries on him person such a huge amount during his
international travel, Rs eight lakhs to spend on his election is mere
peanuts and would not even amount to money he doles out every week
during his weekly constituency darbars.
During the same period as the regional plan came into being, Special
Economic Zones were aggressively promoted by then chief minister
Pratapsing Rane wherein huge tracts of land were allotted to builders
under the guise of being entrepreneurs. The High Court has held that the
allotment is illegal. It is but natural that this too was done under
consideration by those in power and this too was highlighted in the
local dailies.
Then we have allegation of Home minister Ravi Naik’s son being involved
in drug trade which also involves a huge lot of money. We have a list of
scams that debated in the Legislative Assembly; it includes High
Security Registration Plates, Water tanks scam, Money Laundering, Excise
scam which is a clear indication that those involved have extracted huge
monetary benefits from such deals.
Even Comptroller Auditor General of India has observed that the Urban
minister Joaquim Alemao has taken arbitrary decision which has caused a
loss to the exchequer to the tune of crores of rupees. But it can be
safely be alleged that he took such decision as it benefitted him.
Take the example of PWD minister Churchill Alemao who has been cornered
by the Opposition in the assembly umpteen numbers of times of
irregularities but he has allegedly continued to bleed Goa and Goans.
Can we forget his open support to estate developers Rahejas to construct
a mega housing project in a small village of Carmona and too without
adhering to proper rules and regulations. Can we forget his supporting
the Industrial Development Corporation and Quepem MLA Babu Kavlekar who
is caught in yet another land scam. Of course Churchill Alemao’s support
does not come free of cost.
How can we forget former Tourism minister Mickky Pacheco chartering a
private plane (air ambulance) to airlift his good friend from Mumbai to
Chennai for liver transplant. Don’t we raise our eyebrows when we notice
ministers and their children zoom in imported cars which have surfaced
after they were allotted ministerial berths.
These are just some examples of money that has been amassed by the
ruling dispensation and a substantial part of it is going to be used to
win the 2012 elections. It is rumoured that the budget one of minister
in Salcete taluka for his and his family member’s election is slated to
be Rs. 20 crores. Another first time candidate is ready to spend Rs 5
crores to lock horn against another first time candidate whose has the
immense support of political veteran father.
In north Goa another Congress minister has promised the party of bagging
four other constituencies besides his own. The other four constituencies
are supposed to be bastions of the Opposition. Which means that MLAs
representing these constituencies will naturally use the money power of
the minister. Infact Opposition has repeatedly said that coming
elections will be a show of money power by the ministers.
There have been allegations that illegal money has been stashed away in
banks abroad and that some have even constructed strong room to hide
their money. It is everybody knowledge that for Swiss Banks and its like
a few lakhs of rupees is petty cash and they would not even entertain
such clients.
Though the Election Commission of India has brought in lot of reforms
and stringent measures to curtail the use of money during election,
veteran politicians formulate ways to circumvent it and spend much more
money than authorized by the ECI. Even complaints by rival political
party and candidates are treated as political rivalry complaints and
thorough investigations are not carried out. Infact we yet to see a
candidate or a political party being penalized for use of money.
Everybody knows that the benchmark that is used by the Election
Commission of India is just eyewash and that the amount that is actually
spent during electioneering is astronomical when compared to mere Rs. 8
lakhs allowed by the quasi-judicial authority.
I am simply not thinking aloud, during the civic polls Benaulim MLA
Mickky Pacheco had accused his party colleague Revenue minister Jose
Philip D’souza of distributing money to defeat his candidates. This
coming for an elected representative should have been taken seriously by
the Election Commission of India but nothing happened they allowed it to
pass.
The EC has to first inform us how many complaints of misuse of money
have been investigated into and what action it has initiated. Has any
elected representative held guilty of this offence and what has been the
outcome. Has the elected representative been disqualified? So far in
Goa, not a single elected representative has been found guilty of
misusing money power.
Thus in conclusion EC has been found wanting in their duties to check
use of money power, so just by raising the expense slab will not help in
holding free and fair campaigning. The EC has to develop a foolproof
mechanism so that deserving candidates get a fair chance similar to that
of the sitting MLA at the same time keep a check on voters being lured
with the use of money. (ENDS)
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First published in Gomantak Times, Goa - October 27, 2011
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