Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that it has done so much development in this term that there are no more issues remaining for it to make promises in the run-up to the 2017 elections. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has been actively campaigning for the part in Goa, actually said, “Now when we sit to draft the manifesto, we have to search for issues. There is nothing left to be done on the socio and infrastructure fronts. We are now in a dilemma as what to add in the manifesto.” When one of the most prominent of leaders of a political party says this, it signifies that there is a bankruptcy of ideas in the party and that the party think tank does not have any broad vision of what Goa needs.
It’s not just the BJP that appears to be running out of ideas, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) social manifesto that was released last week promised an increase in the doles that the current government is already giving the people. Yes, BJP has specified that it is on the socio and infrastructure fronts that it has no other issues on which to make promises and in the case of AAP it is the social manifesto, but there is a need to look beyond bridges and roads and schemes, for Goa’s needs go beyond that and deserve more attention than the cursory consideration that the political parties appear to be giving it.
For instance, can any political party in Goa propose and promise an investment and industrial policy that takes into consideration all the environment concerns? In the past months, the State has seen various industrial projects being given the nod on lands that are environmentally sensitive. Two example of the recent past are the brewery project at Amdai in Sanguem and the more recent clearance for the tourism project on the island of Vanxim. To avoid such polemics the State needs a clear policy that invites investment but not at the cost of the environment. It is only when environment protection is tied up with the industrial policy that this can be ensured.
Another area that needs attention is higher education. While Goa already has a NIT and the IIT has already begun classes in the State, higher education needs a special focus so that it is linked with the employment market in Goa. Engineering is only one area in education. Management and Commerce also have major employment potential in the State with growth prospects. While Goa Institute of Management is ranked among the top institutes in the country, there is no other in the State that matches it in performance, or comes anywhere close to its standard of excellence. Political parties should consider promoting the State as an education hub, which will get the best of colleges to the State.
It should not, however, end in getting colleges to Goa, which is why the choice of courses offered is important to stop the brain drain from the State. For that the link should be to the job market and hence employment potential, so that youth on getting their degrees remain in Goa, contributing positively to the growth of the State.
These are policy decisions that will require research, debate and vision. The political parties in Goa appear to be lacking in all three. They find it far easier to promise a bridge over a river, a road to a ward, a market or a panchayat ghar to a village. While these are important, there is much more that needs to be done. If the political parties take time to apply themselves to the problems and needs of the State they will come up with much that they can promise. If they are unable to devote that little time to the needs of the State before the elections, little can be expected from them after they are voted to power.
