Opposition parties ready to plunge headlong into anti-double tracking and other protests

Team Herald

DAVORLIM (Salcete): Goa’s frontline opposition parties are in no mood whatsoever to play second fiddle and watch the people’s heightened protests against railway double tracking. 

After the people’s protests laced with the presence of politicians, after Chandor on Sunday night, there were misgivings voiced by at least one of the people’s groups – Goyant Kollso Naka (GKN) – regarding the flag waving and sloganeering of the Congress contingent with present and former MLAs and office bearers and many workers present there.

But the political presence went way beyond just the Congress with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) contingents actively present. Each of these parties has decided to turn up at Davorlim on November 9, the next venue for double tracking work.

GFP has been backing the GKN dominated protests. At the same time Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco has stood with the people in the Majorda, Cansaulim, Velsao belt. He has been present for every site inspection of the railways, itted to the asdapeople as an individual and have promised to carry their voice and ask questions on their behalf in the Assembly,” Lourenco said

AAP sensed an opportunity to seize a pivotal issue, which dominated the political, people and social narrative of South Goa. And unlike in the last elections when it had to play with generic constructs like corruption and development, the anti-coal movement is too strong an issue served on a platter for AAP to let go. The anti-double tracking and other projects linked to the issue of environmental destruction are almost tailor-made for a party like AAP, especially since it does not carry the political baggage of the past, with past and present MLAs called to account for a clean slate in being with people’s causes.

It’s clearly people season. But do not expect any political party in opposition to be a bystander. Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro, in whose constituency the next people’s protest at Davorlim will take place told Herald, “On the March 29, 2019, we held a meeting with Agnelo Fernandes – Additional Collector, Sarpanch, South Western Railway (SWR) officials and farmers and together stopped the work of doubling of railway lines by encroaching the paddy fields being cultivated round the year by the ST farmers, whose livelihoods depend on farming in Davorlim. One year and seven months later we are back to square one. I strongly oppose and stand with all my fellow Goans in their fight against the double tracking of the railway lines being constructed for the transportation of coal.”

Congress has claimed that a discussion has been initiated within their party to decide on whether to hold a separate protest against the infrastructure projects of the government for coal transportation. The Congress State President Girish Chodankar said that since Congress has been in this fight against coal for the last two years, they will definitely come to protest against the work in a larger number. “We will first discuss with the local sitting MLA whether to have a separate protest to oppose the infrastructure projects for coal transportation.”

GFP spokesperson Prashant Naik said that as Goans, they want to be a part of the agitation. “The government should take the signal and stop the work and if they want a larger crowd then they can go ahead,” said Naik. “We will go in a much bigger formation for the protests at Davorlim,” he emphasized.

As parties or individuals, no Salcete politician in opposition can be out of perhaps the most evocative issue for Goans since the Regional Plan of 2011 or perhaps even the language or anti-merger movement.

The BJP MLAs of South Goa are feeling the heat, especially the turncoat Congress MLAs who will have to face the people of their constituencies on a BJP ticket, with the wave of people’s anger totally against the ruling party and the government. This manifested itself with almost all of them meeting Chief Minister Sawant on Monday. One of them present in the meeting revealed that the points of concern are twofold: a) The rhetoric going out that these protestors are orchestrated by Goans from outside Goa. In fact, a symbolic rally against anti-people projects held in London was viewed with absolute disdain by the Chief Minister, without realising that most UK Goans have families in the villages of Goa where the agitation against double tracking and other projects are at its peak; and b) passing off the responsibility for the projects to the Centre and not taking into account the views of panchayats, which have strongly opposed double tracking.

Finally, even a large people umbrella organisation like GE realises that it will need the backing of MLAs to lend weight to the protests. GE has been visiting South Goa MLAs with memorandums asking them to join the people’s cause. As Captain Viriato Fernandes of GE said, “We surely want politicians sensitive to people’s needs to back us and we welcome them. We also expect them to stand back and let people take centre stage but their presence and support means a lot.”

It’s clear though that as the issue snowballs into one of the biggest challenges for the Pramod Sawant led-government, no organisation or party in opposition is willing to give either an inch or a yard, in pitch forking itself in the centre stage of this evocative cauldron.