Completion of Rs 20,000 crore works in next two year, construction of a highway connecting to the proposed Mopa airport, concrete highway that will take one from Goa to Mumbai by road in six hours, fishing harbor at khariawada, were some of the promises. And of course the promise that if Betul doesn’t want it, then the satellite port will be shifted to another State. He followed it up the following day by telling the BJP to keep laying foundation stones over the next few months for various projects. The announcements by Gadkari follow similar declarations by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar in the past few days of free WiFi and free talktime to students in colleges, of enhancing the amount that is paid under the Griha Aadhar Scheme and of other freebies to the people.
As the term of the Legislative Assembly peters to an end, it is obvious that the government is making a last gasp effort to make it first past the post, by announcing and promising as much as it can before the election code of conduct comes into force. It still has a few months to go before the code will curb all announcements of freebies, so these can now be expected to pour in. The question that arises is where are the funds for these projects and freebies. Gadkari was being politically shrewd in telling the party members to lay the foundation stones for the projects. But will he answer the question of what happens to all the stones that are laid in the coming months if there are no funds available to take the projects forward? Surely the government does not believe that the electorate is so gullible that it will fall for these promises and these stones.
It’s election year and while promises of goodies are expected, suggestions from senior leaders to lay foundation stones for projects indicates how political parties have mastered the art of dressing up their promises with token action at election time. Over the past four years since it came to power, there have been numerous promises made during the campaign that the BJP-led government has not been able to fulfill. These are promises that stood out in the manifesto, such as the one to relocate the offshore casinos and the other which was to scrap the Regional Plan and prepare a new land use plan for the State. Against these failures, can the government hope to lure voters with the freebies that it is announcing at this point of time? It is obvious to the discerning voter that these are nothing more than poll sops that would perhaps be welcome in certain quarters, but what about governance? Has the government succeeded in giving Goa the governance it deserves?
The BJP should begin to introspect on these questions before it goes on a foundation stone laying drive. Now that Gadkari’s suggestion to the party is public knowledge, every project mooted, every cornerstone laid in the weeks ahead is going to be viewed suspiciously by the people. Let the government first prove that it has the funds or at least show where the finance for the project will be coming from and then lay the stones. If the people can be convinced that the project being proposed can be completed, only then perhaps will the foundation stone laying spree work to the BJP’s benefit. Otherwise, this would end up like the various other promises made that have never been fulfilled.
