“Why is Parrikar targeting small fry like me? This is political vendetta” laments a former Congress MLA who was a sub contractor supplying machines to mine owners. And though this former MLA is not really a small fry as he has made out to be. When a common man is caught with his hand in the till, the government and police act with great promptness. When a small shelter or extension by a villager is carried out and that too in his own property, the action is again very prompt. But when a road contractor does the adulteration not even the Jr Engineer is suspended. The big fish who loot the public in crores always get away scot free.
Someone said it correctly “Laws are like cobwebs where the small flies are caught and the big ones break through.” Nobody says not to punish the petty thieves but it gives an uneasy feeling when big time thieves go unpunished. Recent events of selective targeting have led one to understand that Parrikar’s fishing net is of such a texture that the great can break through. Why shouldn’t they receive jail terms, and not fines, commensurate to their crimes? Is he satisfied that his carrot and stick policy has been paying him dividends? What is sauce for the goose should also be the sauce for the gander.
Irineu Gonsalves, Verna
