You are a prominent face in this Lok Sabha election. Despite being an Independent MLA, you seem to be firmly supporting the Congress candidate. What made you do so?
VIJAI SARDESAI: The situation in the country is such that all like-minded secular forces have to maintain unity and keep political differences aside to rid the country of the evil forces trying to destroy the democratic and secular fabric. I firmly believe in the equality of all citizens of India and that the secular values that are enshrined in our Constitution cannot be sacrificed by any means. I may have had issues with the Congress, but I believe that I have to cast aside my personal differences to join the battle against the threat the country is facing today. Narendra Modi stands for everything that could go wrong for India. It would not be exaggerating even a little bit to say that if he becomes the prime minister, the values that are enshrined in the Indian Constitution will remain only on the paper on which they are written. The Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) has rightly recognized this threat and on behalf of the Church of Goa, has called upon voters to cast their franchise to “revitalize a truly secular republic.” How can I stay neutral? I was elected as an MLA on the issue of the ‘Swabhiman’ (Self-respect) of Fatorda’s citizens. Now the self respect of Goans is at stake, if we allow a Hitler-clone to govern the country. Goans are a peace-loving people, we cannot allow Goa to become a Bihar, which it shows signs of becoming under the BJP. To safeguard the interests of Goemkarponn, I have supported Reginaldo, and will do my bit to stop such divisive forces from spreading their hate agenda in Goa.
Apart from the communal angle, don’t you feel the BJP is better than the Congress when it comes to development?
VS: Not in the slightest bit. The BJP does not have any developmental model. The entire Gujarat-Modi model is a farce. The truth about the Gujarat model has been exposed in the national media umpteen times. There might have been growth but the social indicators are showing a downtrend. The Gujarat-model has only increased the woes of the poor and the underprivileged. Minorities live in fear. This is not true development. The BJP & Modi need to understand the meaning of inclusive development. They speak only of infrastructural development, but the human factor is totally neglected. If the BJP really cares about Goa and development then why have they not made any mention of Special Status for Goa in their National Manifesto? Parrikar said that Modi’s recent visit to Goa was especially to approve the Special Status after coming to power. Granting special status requires support from two thirds of the House, it also requires Constitutional amendment, so how is it that it was not mentioned in their Manifesto? All these false promises of the BJP are just an eye wash to fool the electorate, just like they promised to legalize Dhirios in their ‘Mission Salcete’ back in 2004. It was promised then, and, 10 years later, is still being promised. This only exposes the lies of the BJP.
Assuming BJP comes to power in Delhi, and since they are ruling Goa too, don’t you feel it will be good for the State of Goa?
VS: The myth of BJP coming to power in Delhi is and always will be a myth. BJP can never come to power in the country, especially if Narendra Modi is projected as the PM-candidate. This is being promoted only to instill fear in the minds of the people, to subtlety send a message that they will assume complete power in the country, and will have their way, which includes revenge and vindictiveness. But this politics of fear has failed miserably in Goa. The people have started questioning elected representatives for challenging public sentiment and supporting communal parties. It is important to note the views of so many if the country’s intellectuals who are of the opinion that Narendra Modi is not fit to be the country’s PM. U R Ananthamurthy, Girish Karnad, Harsh Mander and a host of others cannot be wrong. The voter has to think about this at the time of voting.
What are your views on Churchill Alemao contesting on the TMC party banner? Won’t that hamper Reginaldo’s chances of winning?
VS: Churchill Alemao is a spent force. He fails to realize that the electorate cannot be fooled anymore. He and his family were taught a lesson by the electorate in the 2012 Assembly elections, and this election will be the final nail in his coffin. He is a leader of yesteryears. I acknowledge that his contributions to Goa and the Konkani movement are well known. But all this will be forgotten post the Lok Sabha election. In his endeavour to help Parrikar & the BJP by attempting to split the secular vote, his efforts of keeping Konkani alive in Goa will be completely destroyed, and if Parrikar’s plans become a reality, we might have to forget Konkani and start learning Marathi in its place.
What do you feel will be the outcome of this 2014 Lok Sabha election, and the South Goa Constituency?
VS: I am confident that Reginaldo will win by a resounding margin. After visiting many parts of South Goa along with Reginaldo for corner meetings and public meetings, it is clear that Goans have already made up their mind and have decided to send Reginaldo to Delhi. My only apprehension is that Parrikar will abuse his power as CM and influence the election officials to act partially in favour of the BJP like he had in 2004. In 2004, during Parrikar’s ‘Mission Salcete’ the election officials along the coastal belt were compromised to act in a manner favouring the BJP. One of the ploys was to deliberately slow down the voting, so that voters were forced to stand in long queues in the scorching heat to cast their vote ~ a desperate attempt at forcing Congress voters to return home without casting their vote. A similar situation could be attempted this time too. I appeal to the Election Commission to keep a close watch on the situation and act to prevent such occurrences. However, I am confident that the Goan voter has realized the importance of this election and also expect such malicious ploys of the ruling party. People are more alert this time. This can be seen from the fact that they reported the voter slips that were being circulated by the BJP, in spite of the Election Commission’s directives that parties should not do so as the local BLOs would ensure that each voter would get a slip printed by the Election Commission. The BJP planned to confuse the voters and to trick the voters, especially those supporting the Congress, into carrying these BJP-circulated slips to the booths so that these slips would not be accepted by the authorities and they would be sent back and dissuaded from voting. But the Goan voter will not fall prey to these attempts at deceit and deception, which the BJP is skilled at. I am confident that Goans will brave all odds, threats and tricks to safeguard our Goemkarponn and elect Reginaldo by a huge margin.
