Team Herald
PANJIM: The State machinery, has functioned in an extremely well camouflaged manner along with the BJP to deliver what it hopes will be a perfect birthday gift to their brother in arms – Bhai Manohar Parrikar.
Almost 800 buses – with each MLA given a target of sending upwards of five busloads – snack and water bottles, a massive stage, over 50,000 chairs, posters across major thoroughfares including the entire route from the airport to the venue ground, not to speak of posters in every major and small town, giving saturation levels of information about the big fat birthday party.
The BJP has called Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s birthday public celebration as a “spontaneous thanks giving response from the people” who the party claims have already appreciated their beloved ‘bhai’s’ contribution towards the State through various public welfare schemes for different sections of the society.
But it’ll be good to know who exactly is offering the thanks. Party workers ferried at somebody’s cost, BJP MLAs and office bearers and three central minsters known to be close to the Defence Minister – Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, trusted completely by the Sang parivar bosses and known to have a soft spot for the Defence Minister. The third minister is a fellow local Mr Shripad Naik, important to complete the “all is well” perception of unity.
The big ask is who is paying for all this. From the air tickets of ministers, to their hotel rooms and transport, the 900 buses used to ferry workers and people from across Goa to Panjim, the hoardings, posters and even the advertisements which have indeed been issued, money has been spent. But no one knows who has spent it, beyond the ubiquitous “well-wishers”.
Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said, “There are many well-wishers, who have great respect for Parrikar and they have thus come forward to sponsor several things out of their own wish,” he said. The snacks, seating arrangement and lighting, etc are reportedly sponsored by the ‘well-wishers’.
It is obvious that this is not a simple thanks giving. This is, for practical purposes, a signal that Parrikar is getting ready – or at least wanting to, reconnect politically with Goa. The effort is to increase the reach of this rally through live telecast in local channels, which have been approached.
But there is the official position on this. Addressing journalists on Saturday, BJP State president Vinay Tendulkar said, “the felicitation is going to be a simple celebration, where large numbers of people will gather to wish the central
Minister,” adding that the celebration will not have a buffet, no big-budget decoration, and no flower decoration too.
The stage will be also very simple, he said adding, “all preparations are keeping in mind that Parrikar has always believed in simplicity and lives a simple life.”
Meanwhile, security has already been tightened in and around the venue with special arrangements made for entry of VVIPs, VIPs and general public. Frisking will be carried out.
Speaking about the traffic and security arrangements, Panjim MLA Siddhart Kuncalienkar said, “To ensure that there is no inconvenience caused to the people, the karyakartas are on their toes,” he said.
BJP had constituted a 132 member felicitation committee headed by CM Laxmikant Parsekar and other members comprising of all BJP and MGP MLAs, one Congress MLA, (Mauvin Godinho) industrialists, social activists and others.
Wonder why a spontaneous outpouring of people wishing to give thanks would need such a planned elaborate 132-member team to put it all together.
