Team Herald
PANJIM: Former Union Minister and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has re-articulated and flagged concerns over the BJP narrative and espoused the need for all non-BJP forces to come together. Speaking exclusively to Herald, he made these remarks, when asked about the fragmented opposition to the BJP, which is unable to break the BJP behemoth.
“But we will all have to work together. The BJP is such a major menace. It is really transforming what India is all about into a cauldron of prejudice and bigotry and hatred in ways that are really appalling and if this is not stopped India will become an unpleasantly unrecognizable place. We have to go back to principles of politics which has respect for the diversity of India, inclusive politics and desire for social justice and reaching out to the marginalised and poor, absolute respect for the integrity of the nation, and efficient and transparent governance. There are at least half a dozen political parties who can come together on one platform on these principles”.
When asked about the role of money power that has become prevalent making Goa has become one of the most expensive elections in the nation, of its size, Shashi Tharoor said, “It’s shocking to hear the kind of money that is floating around. The conclusion is that apparently, the spending of money can swing entire seats”.
Tharoor who is the National Chairman of the All-India Professional’s Congress was on a short visit to Goa to speak to young professionals and entrepreneurs as part of the Congress’ organized outreach involving professionals in forward planning. “The salaried professionals who pay taxes, are completely disconnected from the political world and completely disillusioned with politicians. So, we thought why we don’t give chance to the professionals to connect with the political world by providing them with a forum to share their ideas and expertise with politicians and equally have a channel of communication”.
Seeking to expand the organization in Goa, he said, “Goa is a very middle-class state with lots of professionals and those who come from purely professional backgrounds. Professionals feel such a visceral dislike to what is being done to the country”.
He responded to the exodus of professional talent as well as semi-skilled or unskilled talent from Goa, especially those who held Portuguese passports. He said, “Some of them perhaps won’t come back until they get proper work opportunity. The best solution is to open the economy more to create job opportunities in the process so that there is a reverse brain drain. It happened in the tech sector. I remember my contemporaries, the entire graduation batch of IIT would go to the US with a scholarship. By the early years of 21st century, a very large number of each graduating class were not leaving at all. Largely because they found there are opportunities here with remuneration at par with what was being offered abroad.
Shashi Tharoor may not be one of the star campaigners for the Congress in Goa. But his articulation and eloquence does leapfrog into a serious narrative of forming a larger non-BJP coalition in the regions, and nationally, by clearly pinning BJP as the “cauldron of prejudice and bigotry” and appealing to the rest to unite as one opposition.
