PLASTINO D’COSTA
Recently, a member of the ruling party went ballistic on social me dia regarding the nightclub fire that took place in Goa. In the video interview he was seen criticising his own party, which he is presently the member of, and also the lousy administration that had allowed this tragedy to happen. Nothing special about this, a guy gets dis appointed, attacks his own party and administration and seeks intervention from his party bosses in Delhi. The problem was in the comments section, where some of us Goans were seen congratulating the member for pulling up his own party fearlessly and many going to the extent of having high hopes on this guy to save Goa. This is as far as our na ivety goes. Just because a member of the party in office takes the courage, one fine day to pull up his own administra tion, we go out of our way to praise the guy and we have already made up our mind that he is the guy that is des tined to save Goa for us. For Goa’s sake hope these guys that praised him are just two rupee trolls, it would be understandable then since they do it for the money, because if they are genu ine Goans with such inten tions then there is reason to worry. It would be foolish to think that this suddenly enlightened member did not know the corruption ex isted before his party came to power and that his own party had taken it to a com pletely different level. Just because he wakes up from his slumber one fine day, we are ready to anoint him as our saviour and place Goa’s future in his hands. So here is where the oppo sition parties come into the picture, it is literally their job to not only point out the follies the government com mits on a regular basis but to also demonstrate whenever the government does not listen. Can’t say the opposi tion is not playing their part, but somehow it does not translate into votes. Come election time the incumbent seems to have learnt the art of winning despite doing everything against the wish es of the people, let’s keep the EVM debate aside at this moment. If the opposition parties do not do their job con sistently and sincerely and people get the feeling that everybody is hand in glove, and the debates in the as sembly are scripted, then we will have a situation that people from other walks of life, feeling pity on our helpless situation and our naivety might be forced to come in to remedy the sit uation. We should consider ourselves fortunate that a Goan is willing to spend his golden years to save Goa, but what is being attempt ed is just a small part with limited impact. Catching the government on techni cality of the law is fine, but unfortunately they are also the lawmakers. When they make the laws their crooked minds are on an overdrive, they know exactly which part will be opposed by the people. They run all scenar ios beforehand and mostly get away with it because they come prepared for the worst. Getting elected for decades they have learnt how to game the system and manipulate the masses. So if we really have to save Goa it has to come by making rad ical changes in our political setup. If we elect the same people for decades despite their corrupt and crooked ways and sometimes dumb intelligence then Goa cannot be rescued. The opposition itself is on the back foot here, it cannot forcefully point out the cor rupt practices of the present government because they themselves had some cor rupt ministers during their time in office, even if these ministers don’t belong to the party now, it still hap pened under their patron age. The least they can do before asking people to vote for them is to beg for for giveness and make a prom ise that if they come to office they will make sure their own erstwhile corrupt min isters will be brought to jus tice. That should cut some ice with Goans who might be fed up with the present government, but are unable to trust the opposition be cause of their past deeds. Can’t blame Goans for vot ing the same guys too, they make all effort to repackage themselves and confuse the voter. Corrupt ministers mostly find their way as chief guests at events in re ligious backed educational institutions where optics is guaranteed. Imagine the plight of a student, if he heard corrupt deeds of the minister when he was in the fourth standard, by the time he reaches the tenth stand ard the minister is inaugu rating an event in his school. So the student is confused, was he really corrupt, be cause our school manage ment seem to have given him the clean chit. Politicians are not the only ones that need to be corrected if we have to save Goa, the voters too need cor rection. Voters despite Goa’s precarious position are still in the business of taking bribes for their votes either in cash or in kind. Most who take these bribes either do not understand its impli cations or really don’t care about Goa. How do we save Goa from these guys? Meantime, there are some sincere Goans who have never taken a rupee for their vote, but they are relegated in the back ground and considered in consequential. How about placing a placard or a stick er outside their house ac knowledging them for their honesty? Data should be available with the people who distribute the money on election eve. Imagine the faces of those who have palatial homes but still in dulge in taking the bribe. There are many Goan youngsters who are willing to enter politics; the only hindrance for them is that they are unable to arrange the bribe money needed to offer to these voters. If Goa does not eradicate voter bribes, then saving Goa will be a futile exercise. By the way, voter bribery is the biggest cause of political corruption. Politicians are forced to become corrupt so as to finance this voter bribe. Finally, saving Goa cannot be the responsibility of just a few Goans who will do the heavy lifting while the rest behave like cheerlead ers and also take our bribes for voting on the side. If we shun bribes completely, do not allow politicians to make politics their career, Goa will automatically be saved. It’s a long process which needs a complete mindset change. (The author is a busi ness consultant)
