Saturday, February 13, 2016

Re: [IAC#RG] A PANCHANAMA OF BJP’s FOUR YEARS IN OFFICE

@ Ravindran PM

I hope you realize you're dumping Vajpayee into the Congress muck.

Jokes apart, the point is to measure achievements against claims. No one had forced BJP to make promises it cannot deliver. If it is not possible to "clean 60 years of muck" (as though the country achieved nothing till Modi), then BJP could have promised what it could do - which is the idea of election promises, no? BJP hadn't promised to "clean 60 years of muck" - nor does it seem to even be interested in starting, it had promised specific actions, which it did not deliver, as Aires Rodrigues pointed out. I fail to see the utility of generalizing very specific evaluations into some mumbo jumbo that ends up somehow blaming Congress. If BJP cannot govern a place ruled by Congress before, it might as well quit politics.


On Sat, Feb 13, 2016 at 11:00 AM, Ravindran P M <raviforjustice@gmail.com> wrote:
There is no doubt that your analysis is bang on target. But to be fair to NaMo and BJP, do you think it is possible to clean the muck accumulated by the thugs, scoundrels and traitors of scamgress in 60 plus years of their reign? Will transplanting the head make all the difference to the total personality of a person. Poor NaMo, he could not even avoid taking Jaitely, discarded by the electorate in no uncertain terms, into his cabinet! Do you think that such provisions in the Constitution are in any way good for democracy? I am personally of the opinion that our Constitution is a big bundle of fraud! Law makers with no prescribed qualifications or qualities, clerks with continuity  but no accountability and utimately the judges who combine the worst of both worlds (except for having a qualification in law) but made even more worse by totally irrational and undemocratic laws like contempt which place them not only beyond all laws but even from democratically legitimate scrutiny!

regards 

ravi

On Wed, Feb 10, 2016 at 8:23 PM, Aires Rodrigues <airesrodrigues1@gmail.com> wrote:

Election promises cannot be like China-make goods which come neither with a guarantee nor warranty. As the BJP in Goa will soon complete four years in office it is time that we, the people, audit its performance.   


This government has to be assessed on the 'Goa Vision Document 2012-2017', released by the Party in the run-up to the March 2012 Assembly elections and its acts and deeds over the last four years in Power with a never ending string of U Turns and the reneged promises. On having classified the Palm as Grass, less said the better.

 

On March 9th 2012 Manohar Parrikar took over as Chief Minister by burdening the State exchequer with those Rs.11 lakhs unnecessarily squandered on that pompous swearing-in ceremony on SAG grounds at Campal rather than the customary modest one at Raj Bhavan. And were the best and brilliant from amongst his MLAs chosen as Ministers?


In its 'Vision Document' the BJP promised that Annual Performance Reports of every government department would be prepared and publicized. This has not happened. Also promised was participatory governance at village level as envisaged in the 73rd and 74th amendments, which too, has not seen the light of the day. Promised was a new Agricultural policy to make agriculture a more rewarding effort but all that we witness today is the continued sight of fields and hills being converted to concrete jungles. We were assured a new regional plan keeping in mind Goa's identity, but there is no plausible progress in that direction while a selected coterie of  builders are having a field day with constructions mushrooming everywhere without a provision for basic infrastructure of electricity, water, parking, sewage and garbage disposal.


To ensure regular, uninterrupted power supply the BJP had promised that the whole of Goa would have underground cabling in five years and that the State would be plastic-free in three years which has also not happened. It is almost four years and the promise that a garbage management system would be in place in 18 months is still a distant dream. The government has miserably failed in its promise of 12 hours-a-day uninterrupted drinking water within two years. Also not appointed is the promised Minority commission.  Contrary to the 2012 assurance, the six-lane Zuari Bridge was not a priority. Let the government enlighten us as to how many Non-Resident Goans (NRGs) it has encouraged and in what manner, for Goa's development, as promised in that Vision document. The BJP has only played to the gallery on the issue of Special Status but has done nothing to control the alarming and unacceptable levels of migration into Goa.

  

We were assured that in three months garbage strewn along the roads would be cleared. Apart from a mere cosmetic exercise on some roads, the garbage situation statewide has instead turned critical with even the beach cleaning contract being a multi-crore scam. The BJP has not had the spine to even deliver on its promise of banning plastic bags.


Escalating level of crime is a matter of grave concern while political interference in police functioning is turning Goa into a lawless State. The promise to get rid of the Casinos from the River Mandovi was another joke.  


The BJP had promised that Professionals and not Politicians would head Corporations and other bodies but to our utter dismay, all the Corporations have been loaded with political cronies, some of whom carry woefully tainted.  


Various schemes launched to pay doles and build vote banks are in bad taste. Welfare measures cannot be treated as gifts of the ruling party but have to meet the needs of the deserving. Even on the Medium of Instruction (MOI) issue there has been an oscillating volte face.


While in the Opposition  the BJP  had always vociferously criticized the wasteful expenditure of Ministers and MLAs on unnecessary travel, especially the foreign junkets, but over the last four years the current Ministers and MLAs have been jetting  around the world recklessly, while draining an already depleted the exchequer.  

 

With so much hype on e-governance, Goa's bureaucracy is bloating by the day. Despite the current financial crisis, the BJP has been s hiring thousands more to accommodate his party cadres. One of the first decisions by the BJP on taking over office in March 2012 was to hike the fees of the Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni from Rs five lakhs to a whopping eight lakhs a month. Despite the hike Atmaram Nadkarni has continued to be the legal Messiah of the Mining Barons, Casino Lobby and the Builders.

 

In his first budget speech in 2012 the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had assured that every Department would implement e-governance within 18 months. Sadly, most government websites are dysfunctional or remain not updated for months. The 'aam aadmi' is now paying much more for every government service. Even the fee for registering a Power of Attorney which was earlier Rs.50/-, shot up to Rs.500/-.

 

Despite having been given a clear mandate, the BJP has been unable to deliver on the 'Parivartan' that it promised by way of Good governance and Zero tolerance to corruption. Rampant corruption continues unabated. Scams continue galore. What has changed is only the identity of the agents, brokers and beneficiaries. And we are without a Lokayukta till the BJP finds a pliable one!  

 

Last year Manohar Parrikar left Goa and passed on the baton to Laxmikant Parsekar but every Goan will vouch that it has been four dismal years of confusion, contradictions and controversies. This may sound like a requiem but that, is the unfortunate ground reality. During the 2012 election campaign, Manohar Parrikar had promised us the moon but reneged on almost every promise. He used every trick under his sleeve to usurp the office of Chief Minister. We thought he had learnt from his past mistakes and would turn a new leaf. Sadly, it was not to be.  It was the same old Manohar Parrikar, puffed up with added arrogance and highly allergic to any criticism.


His one remarkable achievement is of having stifled the entire voice of the Opposition. Through his trademark tactics he successfully caged and grounded most Opposition MLAs. Surprisingly, to Parrikar's credit goes the fact that many of the otherwise vocal and proactive NGOs have also gone comatose.  

With elections due within a year, we have had a very pompous Carnival and an equally colourful Shigmo will follow. But this is a sign of bad governance - when a State sponsors fun and frolic when its coffers are empty. The government has been on a borrowing spree. How long will it be able to sustain such lavish spending?

 

We are reminded of the words of Manohar Parrikar in his first budget speech of 26th March 2012: "Speaker Sir, the election results made me speechless, and now is the time for me to speak and assure the people, that the faith and trust they have put in us, shall be responded and honoured in multiple"  


But the BJP has not honoured the faith and trust the people of Goa reposed in the party. The actions of the government speak for themselves. We were hoping that the 'Parivartan' in 2012 would be for the better. But the question that torments the common man today is "Have we landed from the frying pan into the fire?"

 

Aires Rodrigues

Advocate High Court

C/G-2, Shopping Complex

Ribandar Retreat,

Ribandar – Goa – 403006


Mobile No: 9822684372


Office Tel  No: (0832) 2444012

Email: airesrodrigues1@gmail.com

                         Or

           airesrodrigues@yahoo.com


You can also reach me on


Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues


Twitter@rodrigues_aires


www.airesrodrigues.com



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