Dears,
The email below has been published as the "Star Letter" in the Herald dated 05
August, 2008.
Mog asundi
Miguel
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 10:50:18 +0530
From: "Averthan D'Souza" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] FW: Distressing developments in GBA
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
_____
It is truly distressing and unfortunate for Goa that the
personal ambitions and uninformed dogmatism of some individuals has led to
the present dissension within the Goa Bachao Abhiyan, and the resignation of
its Convenor.
COMMENT: Averthanus is NOT a a member of the GBA Core Group and he makes a
patently UNINFORMED comment as if it was the Gospel truth.
This bodes ill for the future of Goa,
which was beginning to assert the right of the common citizen to be
consulted by the Government before any major project was approved. The
spirit of the GBA was consistent with the requirements of the 73rd. and
74th. amendments to the Constitution of India. The GBA was unique in
consolidating the common aspirations of the people in respect of the
utilization of the State's physical, economic and social resources.
COMMENT: It is incorrect to use the verb WAS. The GBA is still alive and made a
presentation on 02 August, 2008, a full 24 hours after its Convener reportedly
"resigned". The Task Force sources have stated to the TOI that they are not
aware of any resignation.
Notwithstanding the opposition of some individuals to the GBA being a part of
the Chief Minister's Task Force for preparing the process for the Regional Plan
for Goa 2021, it was a great advantage that the GBA was represented in the
Task Force.
COMMENT: CM's Task Force or Goa's Task Force, dear Averthanus? I doubt anyone
will deny the "advantage" though they may dispute as to who got the advantage.
The GBA should have taken advantage of this opportunity to influence the
thinking of the Task Force. With the resignation of Dr. Oscar Rebello and his
two substitutes on the Task Force, the GBA has lost this opportunity.
COMMENT: The Task force was appointed on 04 October, 2007 and was to have
finished its work by 15 March, 2008. It was later extended to 31 May, 2008. No
further extensions are known to have been notified in the Official Gazette. So
when was this OPPORTUNITY to influence the thinking of the Task Force supposed
to come?
On the one hand, we have been demanding the right to be consulted in the
planning process; but on the other hand, the egoistic attitude of a few
individuals has discredited the GBA both in the eyes of the Government as well
as in the eyes of the common citizens. They will have to bear a heavy burden
of responsibility for their selfishness and
short-sightedness.
COMMENT: Like Prince Charming, Averthanus should go around with this "egoistic"
shoe and see which Cinderella it will fit. He may be surprised that it does not
the sisters in the hall ...but fits someone in the kitchen, far away from the
media glare. The only burden these individuals will bear is of hard cash
....and I am NOT talking of Oscar. He is just the fall guy ...like Babush
Monserrate was of the Regional Plan 2011! If Babush was really responsible, why
has he been taken into the Mango Man's cabinet today? Tell us why, dear
Averthan!
Dr. Oscar Rebello is quite right that the GBA should
offer clear and indisputable alternatives to the Government in the thinking
of the Task Force.
COMMENT: Oscar could have practiced the words of the Mahatma, "BE the CHANGE
you want to SEE." Using four-leter words is but a poor substitute.
If individuals cannot provide such alternatives (in
writing), they should at least refrain from dragging the GBA into a state of
incoherence.
COMMENT: Et tu, Brutus?
For all his limitations, Dr. Oscar Rebello represented the wider consensus of
the citizens. By the vicious attacks against him on the internet (as reported
in the Press) and by making his position as Convenor uncomfortable, these
individuals have compromised the future of Goa.
COMMENT: Compromised is the operative word used by many on the otherside, too.
To state publicly that individuals come and go, but that the GBA should carry
on, is both crass and intolerable.
COMMENT: Has the GBA died after the Solar Eclipse of 01 August, 2008? Is the
TRUTH so crass and intolerable, Averthan?
People who make such statements reveal the dark side of their twisted
personalities.
COMMENT: Do you have someone in mind, Mr. Self Righteous?
Dr. Oscar Rebello has quite obviously been made a scapegoat by these selfish
elements.
COMMENT: You are hundred percent right about Oscar being made the Scapegoat.
Who was the one who confessed his sins on Oscar's head before leading him to
the wilderness that he is in now ...via the Press.
Old Yiddish proverb: "It is a sin to stumble over the same stone TWICE." I
honestly thought Oscar was smart enough to learn his lesson on Statehood Day 30
May, 2008. He had just arrived in Goa from a holiday in Europe with his family
.... while the rest of the GBA was grappling with the Interim Report of the
Task Force, that Oscar signed as the Convener of the GBA just before he went on
the holiday, and the CM was kind enough to make public without informing anyone
whether he had accepted it or not [the copy released to the GBA does not even
have the SIGNATURES of the CM, Charles Correia and Secretary of TCP]..... and
there was no need for him to RUSH to the Press WITHOUT CONSULTING any member of
the GBA, not even Patricia Pinto, to oppose the letter signed by Sabina
Martins. the letter was with the SAME TEXT as the Press note issued by Oscar on
02 April, 2008. I had drafted both [the Press Note of 02 April and the Letter
of 27 May] and both were issued
on behalf of the GBA, only the signatory was different. On 04 June, 2008,[our
last meeting in Caritas hall before the renovation work for the MIHCM was
started] Oscar read out a written apology to the GBA members for his error. On
07 July, 2008, he enclosed the letter of 27 May, 2008, and referred to it in
his letter to the 39 MLAs signed by him. What happened in the next 24 days to
make him turn 180 degrees to his 28 May position? Since you speak with the
confidence of a Clairevoyant, will you give us the answers, Averthanus?
His departure will be a great loss to the movement. The real issue before us
is not the personal contribution of Dr. Rebello, but the devious and insidious
manipulations by a few individuals who think that they can do better.
COMMENT: Oscar's departure is not as great a loss as the calculated damage
cause by the WAY he chose to leave. I fully agree with the "devious and the
insiduous manipulations" but, Abverthanus, you are barking at the wrong tree.
These acts are of those who want to destroy the GBA and promote the REgional
Plan 2021 WITH the Goa TCP [Amendment] Act,2008 in place. The problem began
brewing when the letter was sent to the CM opposing it .....instead of just
sending out a Press Note. The problem was aggravated when the Gram Sabha
meetings across Goa passed resolutions against the Goa TCP [Amendment]
Act,2008, on Sunday 27 July, 2008 and others were scheduled to do the same on
03 August, 2008. That is how the TIMING and the METHOD of the reported
RESIGNATION [There is nothing on record at the Task Force or GBA so far.
Patricia stepped down as the Secretary of GBA with a WRITTEN resignation on 31
March, 2008, if you are looking for a precedent.] become
relevant. SCAPE GOAT Oscar is very definitely. The moot question is for whose
sins is he left in the Wilderness? [See Leviticus 16:10] He is almost the
Florian Vaz of the GBA. At least Florian Vaz was shot dead. Oscar's fate is
worse. One cannot even grieve for what he has done, perhaps unknowingly.
It is truly a very regrettable development in the 'people's
movement' of Goa.
Yours truly,
Averthanus L. D'Souza,
COMMENT: The so-called resignation is not just regretable. It needs to be
condemned for being mala fide and intended to damage the fair name of GBA.
We are a democracy, so why the "India is Indira and Indira is India" type of
pre-Emergency hype doing the rounds in Goa. India is alive after Indira and
Rajiv Gandhi. In spite of all the criticism for being a foreigner by birth,
Sonia is providing political leadership that permits Dr. Manmohan Singh to take
India forward. Nationalities and name tags do not matter. What matters is the
COMMITMENT to the cause. Minor differences do not matter. [Soter has called me
a "traitor" on record; Oscar has hurled personal abuse Soter and others, ladies
included, more than once. He has even gone to physically assault Soter, who
showed tremendous restraint on 28 July, 2008.] It is the commitment to the
cause that matters. The former Convener of GOA Bachao Abhiyan needs to examine
his conscience before casting the first stone. We hope to see him on 09 August,
2008 at Margao for the presentation on the Goa TCP [Amendment] Act,2008, in
the lion's den so to say.
Architect Ritu Prasad, who assisted Oscar in the Task Force, will be doing the
presentation with assistance of Architect Pravin Sabnis. Engineer Shridhar
Kamat, is GBA Co-Convener for South Goa and will be there. Oscar continues to
be a member of the GBA Core Group. He has a lot that he can contribute to its
achieving the third and only remaining point of its three-fold objective ...
the PARTICIPATORY Planning process for the REgional Plan 2021. The 73rd
amendment has been around for 16 years and it is only partially implemented
anywhere in India. Goa can change the tide ....as it did for scrapping of the
SEZ.All we need to do is to believe in ourselves.
If we fail, we will have a Regional Plan 2021 that will be as effective as the
Official Language Act, 1987 .... an usefull tool to further suppress the poor
and the marginalised. Let me quote you Dr.ManoharRai Sardesai in our mother
tongue, Konkani
"Kitle aile gele
Otthra Jun! ....
Ambea mullant kuddkuddtta
Gavddeacho por ozun!"
There is nothing OFFICIAL about it ..... when written in Roman script!!
Mog asundi.
Miguel
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