The New Year has dawned, unfortunately, with no dawn of a new hope for us. If, in the last few months we have seen the most disgusting display of moral degradation, by way of defections, the situation has now turned not only nauseating but also alarming, as we look with dismay at the unprincipled and unscrupulous lot attempting to represent us in the Legislative Assembly. However, it is up to us to frustrate their plans and crush all the traitors, irrespective of our closeness to them or the party they belong.
A working president and declared candidate of a party quitting and shifting to another party was surely the height of betrayal and undignified behaviour on the part of one of our most vocal and forthright MLAs. In the same constituency, another joker resigns from the party, after being denied the ticket, joins another party with an opposing ideology and returns back to his original party now with renewed hope of getting the ticket.
Goa had earned a very bad name, some decades ago, due to constant defections and consequent instability of governments, which severely affected governance and development. It has now touched the lowest ebb in morality and politics. The happenings in Goa today are unprecedented in the country. Our heads need to hang in shame. Not only have we dragged Goa into the worst muck of politics, from where we shall never rise, but our own brothers and sisters have sold their conscience and dignity and will never hesitate to sell Goa and us together, just to climb the ladder.
The four main parties in the fray are busy collecting garbage from other parties. The less we speak about them, the better. Some degree of winnability is surely needed, but can people and parties trust traitors and turncoats who will defect at the sight of a bundle of notes or position or both?
The Chief Election Commissioner has tried hard pulling the wool over people’s eyes by directing that parties putting up candidates, with criminal background, justify their action. This demand appears to hold no water, as there is no bar for them to contest and the winnability factor would justify their candidature. Constraints granted, due to elections in many States, EC could perhaps, have shorter gaps between single phase elections in some States and results, and thus help erase suspicions of tampering with EVMs. But there are no more Seshans (former EC) in India and if there were, they wouldn’t survive in a setup where institutions are compromised.
Let me turn to issues concerning Goa and Goans, which we need to bear in mind, while exercising our vote. A pressing issue which should worry us is the unemployment scenario. Absence of jobs cause not only exodus, penury, depression but lead to robberies, vices and increase in anti-social activities. It surely gladdens us that new jobs have been announced and are being created. But nepotism, auction of jobs and demand of bribes are being alleged by ruling Party MLAs themselves.
There were reports of aspirants crowding the Health Minister’s residence, of bribes and scams in recruitment both at GMC and PWD, of increasing marks of those who failed constables’ test but excelled in PSI’s, etc. Sale of government jobs is not new to this regime. It happened in the past too. Our political masters seem not to have conscience or compunctions to deprive the needy or those with merit and forcing their lucky favourites into corruption, to recover what they paid to grab the post.
Despite the sad happenings and painful memories of April-May 2021, this irresponsible and insensitive Govt continued playing with people’s health and lives only to boost its sagging revenue. What happened during the Christmas season, the Sunburn, the crowds at Baga and elsewhere, flouting all CAB norms, only proved total collapse of governance and administration, results of which are already being seen with the monumental spike of Covid and some deaths too.
In Fatorda, some developmental works, already sanctioned, were halted allegedly by a political rival, as if the funds for them came from some politicians’ pockets. MLAs regularly defect to the ruling side deceiving the electorate with assurances of development of their constituency. By this logic, every MLA should belong to the ruling Party, leaving the impression that funds for development come not from the public but from these MLAs’ private coffers.
Goa’s CM, even as Speaker, had already shown his true colours when he warned those who would chant “Viva Portugal” or “Pakistan Zindabad”. There was no cause for such warning, yet he chose to do it, solely to hit the two minority communities. Recently, he spoke of rebuilding Hindu Temples destroyed by the Portuguese. These centuries’ old unfortunate events raked up, on the eve of elections, calling for “rebuilding” temples, smack of attempts at polarisation. Surely, no one objects to construction of temples, churches or mosques, except on disputed sites, and broad minded Goans would, in fact, welcome them and do not require Pramod Sawant to do it.
Even at the risk of instability, Goans need to make a conscientious choice of upright individuals, wherever available of course, and reject outright, traitors, criminals and destroyers of Goa and crush these before they can decimate us and our beautiful and beloved land.
(The author is a retired banker)
