PANJIM: With Parliament security breach, a demand to produce identity cards is growing with the Goa Government Employees Association demanding to ban entry of staff of Ministers and MLAs visiting government departments without ID cards or often misusing their position to get their work done.
Goa Government Employees Association (GGEA) president Abhay Mandrekar said, “It is important that we prove our identity which shows where I have come from. When asked, you should produce your identity cards. It is only for security purposes.”
Aldona MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira said, “It is legitimate demand of the government official to ask for ID cards of staff of Minister or MLA when they approach offices for work to avoid misuse or abuse of name of Minister or MLA who may perhaps may sometimes not even know that someone has approached some government department in his or her name or on his or her behalf.”
Former GGEA president John Nazareth said, “Wearing identity cards around the neck should be a requirement. Even press reporters or the government employees have their identity cards. It should be made mandatory for everybody specially for the Secretariat or Legislative Secretariat to display their cards. As far as the general public is concerned, they may have cards like driving licence or PAN or any document issued by the government. A system should be created wherein his or her identity is proved.”
Political analyst Trajano D’Mello said, “Goa Government Employees Association’s demands to make ID cards for staff of Ministers and MLAs compulsory is absolutely justified in the light of the laxity of security by the present day government as intruders managed to sabotage entry norms in connivance with persons in power. There are instances where staff of Ministers and MLAs take people along with them as a matter of their power. This has to stop.”
AAP State president Amit Palekar said, “Many of our people are not having identity proof. In a country like ours, it is a difficult proposition. First of all, there is a need to create awareness about our own safety.
Problem: The practice of feeling special should stop. Services should be the same for all. People should be able to go to government offices and get their work done just as a minister’s person get his work done. If you talk about government at the doorsteps then this is how it should be. Services should be common for all. Here also there is ‘Sarkar Tumchya Daari’ but it is more like a show-off. It is a publicity stunt.”
