PANJIM: The Church in Goa has called upon Catholics to ‘rise above religion, caste, creed or other selfish considerations and vote for upright, knowledgeable, capable and sincere leaders to government’. The Council of Social Justice and Peace, on Friday released guidelines to the electorate on how to vote for the February 4 Legislative Assembly elections.
Stating that for Catholics, political participation and voting are not optional, but an integral part of their Christian faith it calls on them to elect ‘principled leaders to the government, to ensure that good public policies, reflecting moral values and fostering the common good, are created’.
The guidelines look back at the past few years and how financial and development mismanagement has damaged the State. “With over a Rs 10,000 crore public debt on the heads of Goan citizens and a threat to the natural resources from unregulated and indiscriminate development, the outcome of this State Election 2017 will determine and impact the future, not only of the existing citizens, but of the generations yet to be born,” the guidelines state.
It adds, “The wanton destruction of Goa’s environment and culture cannot be seen as a one-way process in our democracy; it rather points to a material and formal cooperation of the voters, who repeatedly elect insensitive and unscrupulous political representatives to legislate and govern every five years.”
The guideline state that in the federal structure elections to the State government cannot be seen in isolation from the Union Government. “Citizens have to be aware of the reality that any oppressive, discriminatory and destructive legislations and policies proposed at the national level require the collaboration of State governments for enactment and their cooperation for implementation.”
It states that while local issues are important and need to be considered, one cannot ignore the “larger thrust that is being placed in recent times, at the national level, to undo the Sovereign, Socialist, Secular and Democratic fabric of our nation as enshrined in our Constitution”.
“The undue intrusion and interference of governments in the judiciary or educational and financial institutions cannot be a sign of good governance. The terror unleashed by the State and non-State actors to silence dissent or diverse opinions about governance by labelling them as anti-national or unpatriotic cannot be ignored by responsible citizens. The select private business interests being promoted through government policies under the pretext of fostering economic growth, tackling corruption and ensuring transparency through digitalisation, are a disturbing development. The commissioning of an Investment Promotion Board (IPB) by Union or State governments and the nationalisation of our State’s natural resources to push projects in villages and towns by undermining the constitutional powers of the self-governments like Panchayats and Municipalities are in no way expected in good governance,” it states.
Dwelling on the recent financial changes, it says, “The shift from the social policy of ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makaan’ for uplifting the poor sections of the society to an emphasis on digital and cashless policy involving smart phones, ATM cards and Paytm apps as the basic requirement for every citizen to avail of government benefits and purchase their basic needs is a worrisome phenomenon.”
It further states that citizens need to be aware that corruption in governance is not merely about monetary considerations, but involves the abuse of power and denial of transparency and accountability in governance policies and programmes. “Exploiting the vulnerability of the unemployed, the displaced and the economically backward voters by luring them with freebies and unrealistic promises of jobs also amounts to corruption,” it states.
