Politics will go on. But are parties ready to answer some questions on basic issues of Goans?

As elections are coming near, with each passing day we hear of new people joining parties or people leaving one party and joining another as if contesting elections is the only aim of politicians and parties. But it is high time people make parties place their clear stand on the real issues that are important to Goa. After all, they are issues of great importance.
Goans need parties to tell us where they stand
Parties will come up with manifestos and constituency-wise manifestos and most of them are cut and paste jobs of earlier manifestoes or borrowed from even other parties or smaller groups. These are often just glanced over because all sound the same and do not address real issues that people want to know. We will start with some of the key issues which anybody who loves Goa and has the future of Goa and their families and children in mind, would want to know. And parties have a duty to come clear on these and also be prepared for a full-fledged debate on them later. We address them directly and ask “What is your stand”?
What is your stand on coal & double tracking to transport more coal?
The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee has said a project of this nature will destroy the fragile eco-system of the Western Ghats and recommended revoking the permission granted by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) for doubling of the railway track passing through the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.
Parties contesting these elections should each clearly say if they agree with the recommendations of the Supreme Court committee to cancel the project which will save Goa from excessive coal transportation.
They should say if they are fine with coal transportation and the pollution and life-threatening diseases that occur because of it. Or do they think transportation is needed for Goa’s economy and explain how Goa’s economy gets benefited.
What is your stand on the future of mining and recovery of dues firm mining companies?
Parties should in simple terms state how should the mining corporation which will now be formed, after a lot of struggles of the people and the brave tireless efforts of Norma and Claude Alvares and the Goa Foundation, be run. Should it be a corporation to be run for the people, by the people and the benefits of mining go to the people? Should the corporation be run by the government and the sons of the soil mining workers who have machinery or trucks or do they want the mining barons to come through the back door?
Can the parties tell us if they are seriously interested in recovering the Rs 35,000 crore that are due, on account of illegal mining between 2007 and 2012? In fact, former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had said in the Assembly that it is not the Goa government but the Central government’s responsibility to recover this amount. Can the ruling party in Goa clear that position and say if they will ask the Centre (governed by the same party) to recover the dues or will the State do? Other parties should state clearly what their position on this recovery will be.
In 2015 the Goa government had appointed 15 CAs to audit the recoveries from mining companies for mining between 2010 and 2015 only. The Goa Foundation approached the Court saying that the recovery amount through this should be about Rs 3,500 crore adding the figure arrived at by the CAs plus the amount said to be recovered in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The government brought down this figure to only Rs 300 crore, sent notices and so far, managed to recover only a drop in the ocean of Rs 100 crore, which is a small change for just one company leave along all the companies run by the mining barons.
Can all parties clearly state if they will recover the correct amount of Rs 3,500 crore (in addition to the long-pending Rs 35,000 crore) before they go to the people to ask for votes?
What is your stand on accepting rejected candidates from your party and other parties?
Rejected candidates and those with unfavourable backgrounds are entering parties and claiming that they will be contesting seats. They have been simply rejected by the people, some more than once. It is clear that they are joining the party not to build the party but as a platform to get a ticket and contest.  They will jump the very moment they get an offer or a taste of power. Do the parties want to present such candidates to the people by giving them tickets?
With regard to rejected candidates, they will come across as very nice and very respectable. They will meet politely, give gifts and make promises. Once elected, they become arrogant and forget who they are talking to. They have no communication with the people and they will also jump to any party. They don’t believe or listen to even their own families. So, parties should simply tell the people if these kinds of rejected leaders will find any place in their party.
Will the parties tell us if they will ensure that the Major Ports Act in this form doesn’t destroy Goa?
The ruling government has accepted that the Major Ports Act will give total power to the MPT over Goan lands and village governance where they can construct and do anything they want with no say of the people. Can the ruling party inform us how they will ensure that the act is amended to drop MPT from it to allow Goa to protect its land, its fishing communities and its people?
What is your stand on tourism for all including tourism in the villages?
Parties must tell the people what their vision for tourism is. What kind of tourism do they plan and what kind of tourists do they plan? Will they have village-based hinterland tourism where local communities will be benefited, local handicrafts and skills will be showcased and a market will be found? Will village tourism sports be showcased for real tourism which is eco-friendly and sustainable? Meanwhile, in the towns, will they improve the experience like any beautification with boulevards, cafes, walking heritage zones, music festivals? Will they bring about the professionalism of Singapore and adapt it to Goa’s needs and yet get high-end tourists or will they be happy with the state of tourism and facilities and get those who litter on roads and beaches, cook and defecate in open spaces and being nothing to the economy?
What is your stand on effective education to see that the youth don’t have to leave their mother land?
Education is the key. The brain drain of students going out of the State has to stop. Education has to be linked to industry and jobs. Do we even produce enough pharma pass outs to be absorbed in all the pharma majors in the State? Why do pharma companies based in Goa have maximum employees from outside Goa? Secondly, there is no synergy between industries and education to ensure that the talent pool graduating has good industry options in Goa.
On another note, what is the stand of the parties with regard to skill development so that artistic and other skills can help them get trained by experts from abroad and then use that training for self-employment and ready business? Has a single political party prepared an education policy along these lines?
Finally, what is your stand on people living in harmony and in peace?
Goans for years have lived together in absolute harmony and peace with the freedom to practice their faiths, worship freely and lead liberal and secular lives. Goa has been the role model of civility and togetherness. Do political parties believe strongly that this will continue? And if they say yes, they should be prepared to come on a debating platform with others and elaborate and explain this.
Meanwhile, those who have joined mainstream non-local parties from people’s movements must assure to the people that they will not allow the people’s agenda to suffer or be diluted in those parties. It is their responsibility. If the agenda dilutes, they will have to be accountable.
Elections cannot be about putting together some candidates, somehow put together by looking at power through any which way and not necessarily the straightway. But this time people will ask questions. They will ask what is there for Goa and for their children’s future. If parties don’t have the right plans and answer the right questions we have asked today, they will go empty-handed to the people. And come home empty-handed too.