By Jesuin George
Fernandes
The dream merchants may have sold us a pipe dream, but India will never rise to the level of a developed nation if we don’t nurture a culture of discipline and accountability – hardly anything of which is left! Every other guy today wants to cut corners to maximize profits. Every ‘Sarkari’ official knows that if at all he does get caught, he will be reinstated with full honors after a short drama. In this stinking system where scoundrels, bootleggers and ‘chamchas’ flourish, “Make in India” is bound to remain a cheap slogan. While our reserved keep getting fattened here, our deserved will rise and shine in distant Lands.
Former CM of Goa, Mr Manohar Parrikar raised our expectations with his promise of accountability and avowed zero tolerance to corruption. After people gave him a clear mandate, he only turned around to tell us that government offices will get emptied if he initiates action against corrupt officials- a kind of moral support they could have done without. It’s difficult to see any bona fide intentions behind the State Government’s latest offering – a Lokayukta that was promised within 100 days! Parrikar’s rave
and rant about the mining loot turned out to be yet another unfunny joke: when a golden opportunity to auction mines and get maximum revenue into the State treasury presented itself, Parrikar unabashedly handed over our rich mineral resource back to the same old so called ‘Mine Owners’. Soon after, he left for Delhi.
At the national level, Narendra Modi who rode to power on the much hyped promise of “achhe din” and development, appears to be falling back on Hinduvta gimmicks. Tall talks of bringing back black money and “achhe din” are passé. Even the King of Good Times has flown away, which in itself is not surprising because as a bard put it, “Bikini bikini ke chakkar mein, company toh ek din bikni hi thi”.
But what is striking is the way in which the Kingfisher was allowed to take off after defrauding the Public Banks of a sum almost equal to Goa State`s annual budget.
We have seen the reign of the previous dispensation in Goa, grandfathers and grandsons of which are presently at war – one to retain their foothold and the other to get their foot inside the gravy train. For that matter, take any other political party, at the national or State level. They may appear different from outside, but their DNA is the same. They are for themselves first and foremost; the people of the country and by implication the country itself comes a distant last! An umbilical cord unites them (as if sired by the
same fathers) and despite the many dramas they enact for public entertainment, at the core level they always remain as thick as
thieves.
In this gloomy scenario, the only silver lining is the emergence of Mr Arvind Kejriwal. A brilliant administrator, a great visionary and above all a man with bonafide intentions capable of bringing about a systemic change in the system. He may have made mistakes; mistakes that he quickly turned into lessons to emerge stronger.
Today the Aam Aadmi government in Delhi, despite having to manoeuvre an unfriendly central government has put the State on the right track to holistic development – Development that will raise the living standard of the common man.
After providing a monthly 20000 liters of free water to the poor, the Delhi water supply department is showing better revenue than before. So is the case with other basics like power, education, transport, health, security etc. Like any good company, AAP has promised less and delivered more within a short span despite the adversities. The Party has time and again purged itself of bad elements thereby testifying to the self correcting mechanism inherent in the Party. On the other hand, every other major political party
is known for standing by scamsters in their fold even when a scam gets exposed. It is only when the scam cannot be covered up, when those involved turn into liabilities that some pretense of action is played out.
“What can one man do?” is an often repeated cliché. A good man can inspire ten others and those ten in turn can inspire another ten each and soon we have enough good people to change the country. Arvind Kejriwal is an outstanding living example.
Goa is ripe for a revolutionary change with people cutting across the many lines that divide Goans wanting to rid themselves of the self seeking political Parties and their leaders who pretend to represent us. The discontent amongst the silent majority only needs to be harnessed for a kind of change the AAP has brought about in Delhi. The AAP in Goa does not need political heavyweights or famous personalities but only clean & capable men and women on board.
This leadership can emerge from anywhere when people are ready for a change. Not that there are no good people in our main stream Political Parties – there certainly are. But the ‘Vatavaran’ in these parties is such that even when doves enter their fold, they slowly evolve into old vultures refusing to quit! There are capable young Turks in various political parties, still good, still redeemable, who should think about joining the revolution.
Many names come to mind when I think about good people in a bad system, but the name I cannot resist mentioning is that of our late MLA, Mr Matanhy Saldanha. A disillusioned Matanhy would have embraced Arvind Kejriwal and his path breaking political idea called AAP with the ease of a duck taking to water. This man always longed for a political outfit for a progressive, clean & green Goa.
Unfortunately APP happened only when Matanhy had already crossed over to the other side.
