Herald: What according to you are the prospects of the Goa Forward Party in the coming elections?
Vijai Sardesai: We are confident of maintaining our strike rate. More Goemkars, especially the youth and women, are getting convinced that a fearless rationalistic political party is necessary to not only respond to their aspirations and fulfill them but also stand up to the bullying of others who see Goa as a big treasure chest from which they can loot and scoot.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
H: What will be the issues that GFP will take to the people?
VS: We are a Goa-centric political force and like we have maintained since our inception, we intend to put Goemkars at the centre of Goa’s development. Our programmes are not cut and paste jobs done out of air-conditioned rooms in Delhi, formulated for run down and poverty-stricken states. We are a highly literate state with the highest per capita income and with stellar social indicators. We are in the process of creating constituency-wise manifestos incorporating precise needs and priorities of the people who live there. This will be a truly democratic affair with people literally having a say in what they want for themselves.
H: Public are of the opinion that you and your party have suddenly made a U-turn with regard to the Mhadei and coal issue soon after being dropped from the cabinet, what do you say?
VS: That’s factually incorrect. We have been uncompromising right from the beginning on Mhadei, coal and other issues that were blatantly anti-Goan. Our stand had remained unchanged throughout our tenure in the cabinet and continues today. I’m the one who went to the Supreme Court against the shabby handling of the Mhadei affair. We are a party that began our political journey fighting for our iconic maad from being notified as grass, and winning that battle. We’re a Goa-centric party and we will fight any decision that goes against the state’s interests from within the government or outside of it.
H: Your name is often associated in the ‘Formalin Fish’ dispute. What was your role in that controversy?
VS: I had no role in that controversy except as a government minister. The fisherfolk of the area approached me with their grievances because I was the only minister from South Goa. I intervened on behalf of the people only to make sure that no contaminated fish would ever get into any Goan household. I insisted that there should be a lab exclusively to test not only fish but also meat and poultry and everything else that comes from outside. I even laid the foundation stone for it. The people who rake up the controversy should enquire what happened to that lab. I safeguarded the interests of the people and I got dropped from the cabinet. It’s as simple as that.
H: How do you look at the upcoming elections with regard to several public-related issues?
VS: There are these 3 Ms I have highlighted. Money, Mhadei and Mining. Just take these three. The government has been a disaster in each one of them. In Mhadei’s case, it’s almost as if Sawant tried to sabotage Goa’s interest and root for Karnataka’s. We see his ‘Bhumiputra’ sympathy everywhere. Mining issue is continuing even after nine years of the ban, and the money that should have gone to the exchequer is going to individual pockets. Corruption is unprecedented––take the Aguada Jail issue, they’re in the process of handing it over to a private party after renovating it on public money. Crimes against women have skyrocketed. We became world famous because of avoidable Covid deaths made possible.
H: Taking into consideration the GFP stand with regard to supporting the BJP to form the government, soon after the 2017 elections, many are of the view that you cannot be trusted. How do you react to this perception of the public?
VS: The talk that I would go back to offering support to BJP is propaganda. That sentiment does not exist today and my detractors have been fanning this because they have nothing else against me. I’ve made it clear many times that the decision to support Parrikar, not BJP, was taken to bring stability to an otherwise fluid situation and because of the lethargic and indifferent Congress response, or the lack of it, even hours after the results were declared. My decision to support Sawant was a promise I gave to a man on his death bed—the word of a Goemkar and I stood by it. Yes, it was a mistake, and I have had the honesty to admit it, and the integrity to publicly apologise to the people for it. Check our track record in the Assembly and outside. Who’s the real opposition? We’ve not only exposed this government on many issues but also taken the effort to fight the cases, on behalf of the people, in the courts and take them to their logical end.
H: What will be the strategy of the GFP, if its efforts of an alliance with Congress fail? Are there any plans to contest all 40 constituencies?
VS: We are an independent party with a strong independent ideology, and as a regionalistic political force we work at the grassroots and address the problems Goemkars face. That’s our strategy. Alliance is a tactical decision that’s necessitated by the political circumstances of the day. We are making rapid strides on our own with our programmes.
H: Why then does the GFP want an alliance for upcoming elections?
VS: Goemkars want an alliance. We’re merely reflecting this strong sentiment of the people. The sure fire way of beating BJP is by unity—among opposition, among like-minded people and all Goemkars.
H: In what way will an alliance help keep BJP away from coming to power in the next Assembly elections?
VS: Apart from the obvious advantage of numbers which seriously matter in an electoral contest, it is a clear case of 2+2 becoming 6. Take the recent Margao Municipal elections. We had a semi alliance with Digambar Kamat, opposed by the Congress in Fatorda. There were no strongly coordinated campaigning or shared strategies. Yet, we not only defeated the BJP to become the only opposition ruled Class 1 Municipality but also sent a signal that this can be a template for Goa. The very perception that the opposition is united can give manifold benefits, and the chances of winning increase exponentially.
H: Are there any plans to form a third front if an alliance with Congress fails? If so, who will be your partners?
VS: Today, our partners are the people. There can be developments in the future and we’re open to them as long as they help in consolidating the anti-BJP votes.
