PANJIM: Goencho Avaaz, an umbrella organisation of several NGOs, has clearly hinted that it intends to enter the political arena. Activists, who on Wednesday addressed the media to reiterate their opposition to some controversial issues pertaining to the State, said they are politicians “by default”.
After evading a direct answer to a question about their entering politics in the near future, Goencho Avaaz co-convenor Swapnesh Sherlekar said, “Goa’s politics has become murkier in the present scenario and there is also a reason. It is said that a lotus grows in mud and that’s why they (politicians) want to dirty the entire Goa. They are aware that the more they dirty the place, the better the lotus will bloom. But someone has to put their hand in the mud to cleanse it and I want to say that we are also ready to go to the cemetery to fight ‘dharma yuddha’.” He said this in reply to a question posed by Herald.
Following insistence to clarify on speculation that the activists were turning politicians, Sherlekar said they are always a politician by default. “When you are in a crusade against politicians from the beginning, we are politicians from the beginning; we have been in politics since then. We are politicians by default,” he said.
During the media interaction, the activists claimed they have been compelled to raise the bar of resistance to fight back, a statement indicating their interest in political affairs. “As such now these rogue politicians, no matter belonging to which political party, have enhanced their acts of destruction, but seeing this, we too are compelled to raise the bar of resistance, the will to fight back. Thus, we hereby promise our people, and most importantly to these politicians, that we too are prepared to go to any extent to achieve our goal of protection of this land of our forefathers,” a statement issued by Sherlekar and co-convenor Capt Viriato Fernandes said.
Goencho Avaaz alleged that the government is controlled by crony capitalists and that many MLAs are involved either in real estate, casinos, matka gambling. “They have accumulated thousands of crores, under the garb of Regional Plan, 16B, TDR, etc. Our villages are being ravaged for benefitting crony capitalists for transporting coal. They have even sold our Mhadei to Karnataka. Our fields are being filled to make highways, which we now realise is for coal transportation,” the activists alleged.
