HOME ISSUES IN POINGUINIM -------------------------------------------------- |
IN
DEPTH |
STRAY THOUGHTS By Rajan Narayan WHEN THE DGP GOT DRUNK AND DISORDERLY -------------------------------------------------- |
IN
THE NEWS POLICING THE PRESS Jonquil Sudhir in a tete-a-tete with Sujay Gupta, Editor, 'Gomantak Times'. -------------------------------------------------- |
POLL
TALK |
IN FOCUS IS THE SKYBUS SAFE? By A Special Correspondent -------------------------------------------------- |
VIEWPOINT
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PARRITLER'S
TRAVAILS By Aravind Bhatikar WE WILL WIN, EASY-DHOR WILL LOSE -------------------------------------------------- |
EATING
IS FUN HOME
& HEARTH |
FLORA
& FAUNA LANDSCAPING YOUR PERSONAL GARDEN By Dainel D'souza -------------------------------------------------- |
SHORT
STORY |
GLOBAL
GOAN |
SPORTSTRACK
By Irineu Gonsalves SANTOSH TROPHY THE PRIDE OF INDIAN FOOTBALL -------------------------------------------------- |
GOENKARANCHO
AVAZ |
ARCHIVES
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IT IS MORE THAN just another bye-election. The Poinguinim bye-election has very serious implications for the state of Goa. The outcome of the elections will not only affect political parties but impinge on the lives of the ordinary citizens. Not only on the lives of the residents of Poinguinim constituency. But every resident of Goa. This is because the Poinguinim bye-elections will decided whether money and muscle power will become the dominant factor in Goan politics. Let us dwell for a moment purely on the political implications of the Poinguinim bye-elections. If the Congress-turned-BJP candidate, Isidore Fernandes, wins, it will greatly strengthen the BJP in the State. Isidore’s victory by itself will not give the BJP the absolute majority it is seeking through deceit and manipulation. But the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is on record that more Congress MLAs will follow Isidore’s example if the BJP wins the Poinguinim seat. If three more Congress MLAs decide to resign their seats the BJP will achieve its objective of securing an absolute majority. Though Babush Monserrate does not realise it, it will also enable Parrikar to dump elements like him. Parrikar is aware that Babush is a major embarrassment to the BJP. It is a measure of Parrikar’s genius or deviousness that he has been able to use Babush to cook the goose of the Taleigao MLA. If Isidore wins and three other Congress MLAs decide to emulate Isidore’s example Babush will probably be dumped as unceremoniously as Micky was. On the other hand a Congress victory will ensure at least slowing down if not a complete halt to the saffronisation of Goa. Let’s not make any mistake about it. The ultimate objective of the BJP in Goa and even more of the Sangh Parivar is to convert Goa from a vibrant model of secular democracy to a Hindutva state. There is enough and more evidence of the systematic attempt to marginalise the minority community in Goa. If the BJP gets an absolute majority in Goa it will become another Gujarat. The tragedy is that the Congress in Goa does not seem to appreciate that an Isidore victory in Poinguinim will spell the death knell of the Congress. It will inflict a blow on the Congress which it will take years if not decades to recover from. It is even more unfortunate that the Congress High Command does not seem to have understood the larger implications of the defeat of the Congress candidate in Poinguinim. What can happen in Goa today could happen in other Congress-ruled states. And the Congress at the national level may find its MLAs and even Members of Parliament quitting to re-contest on the BJP ticket. There is talk of Rahul Gandhi campaigning for the Congress. This may or may not help but what is really needed is greater support from the Congress High Command for Jagdish Acharya. The
most horrifying dimension of the Poinguinim bye-elections is
the apprehension that it will vastly enhance the influence of
Babush Monserrate. There have been pure mercenaries and criminal
elements in politics in Goa in the past. But none of them have
been so cold-blooded and single minded in pursuit of the objective
of criminalising Goa. A victory for Isidore will in the ultimate
analysis be a victory for Babush. And reinforce and strengthen
his belief that everyone can be purchased provided the price
is right. The "Viper from Taleigao" already has plans
of floating a political party. He has already
begun to entertain fantasies of becoming the Chief Minister
of Goa. Indeed, it is neither in the interest of the BJP or
the Congress for Isidore to win. The BJP workers in Poinguinim
have realised this. That is why there is a large scale revolt
within the BJP in Poinguinim against the candidature of Isidore
Fernandes. It is high time the BJP in Goa wakes up to the fact
that there is very little difference between Manohar Parrikar
and Babush Monserrate. They are birds of the same feather. Parrikar
is already a Hitler. Babush is hell bent on becoming a Salazar.
The bottomline is every resident of Goa and not just the voters
in Poinguinim have a stake in the bye-elections scheduled for
October, the 13th. MOG ASSUM RAJAN NARAYAN
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