National security & compromises
It is very comforting to hear from Union Minister for State for Defence M M Pallam Raju that the government “will not compromise on security issues”, after commissioning the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘Vijit’, for the Indian Coast Guard at Goa Shipyard (GSL) in Vasco. He was being dismissive about resentment among the Goan public over the Navy’s proposal to acquire the Islands of St George off the coast of Goa.
Maybe the minister can ask the Indian Navy why it needs two more islands, when it has no security whatsoever on the one island it has already acquired decades ago. He should find out why there is not even a watchman posted on the island. He should inquire why the Navy has not invested a single paisa on this island, which it already owns. It has not even bothered to repair the jetty built by the Portuguese colonial government, which has fallen down.
The minister should also ask the Navy why, even after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, it has not bothered to place any personnel on its own island. He should also inquire what the Navy plans to do with two more islands, when it cannot even secure its own island, even after the attack from the sea on Mumbai.
The minister should also ask why the Navy wants to acquire the tiny Bimbvel beach, which is to one side of the Dabolim airbase runway, when it has no intention to acquire the Hansa beach, which is directly under the runway flight path. Could the Bimbvel acquisition proposal have anything to do with making an exclusive picnic spot and private beach for top Naval officials? And what, exactly, does this have to do with the country’s security…?
The minister needs to ask the top brass of the Seabird Naval Base at Karwar why Catholic pilgrims are a much greater security threat than other citizens. The Navy has no hesitation in inviting all and sundry to visit the Seabird Naval Base during Navy Week and even go aboard its ships. However, it will not allow pilgrims from Goa and Karwar to visit an ancient and deeply revered Church and shrine on Anjediv Island twice a year, even though it promised this in a written agreement concluded when it acquired the island.
Does the security of the country get compromised only if the Navy fails to acquire two islands? Does it not get compromised when the Navy fails to place guards on the islands it already owns? Can it not be compromised when, instead of making local fishermen its eyes and ears to look for terrorists – by training them to spot suspicious activity and helping them to earn their goodwill – Navy personnel continue to harass them and forcibly take away the best of their catch? There are compromises and compromises. The minister should make it clear which ones the government won’t allow, and which ones it will.
It’s only words…
So the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is planning to field candidates in all of Goa’s 40 constituencies and form the next government? Only if the Congress continues to rattle its go-it-alone sabre, said former Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco, at his lavish birthday celebration on Sunday.
Brave words.
But is there anything more to them? While thousands feasted at Mr Pacheco’s expense, filmstars felicitated him and the usual suspects declared their support, one noteworthy fact that has not escaped attention is that list of speakers did not include a single NCP minister.
