Of Inaction, Double Standards and Luxury
With the advent of the rule, nay misrule, of our laissez-faire chief minister Mr Digamber Kamat; we have faced numerous double standards and ineffective governance. While he does not seem to know, or pretends not to know, what exactly is the factual position of any administrative matter, there seems to be a conceited emphasis on non-action on his part.
This is very sad considering the high expectations we had when he took over as Chief Minister in June 2007. He has been bitten by the ‘appeasement’ bug. In fact all the information and my subsequent views are coming forth because of the information provided by a ‘little birdie’ with knowledgeable antecedents!
I remember about three years ago, when a group of musicians and entertainers approached the CM with the issue of the sound restrictions, he was quick to defend the governments unrealistic stance, “We now have the Police Reforms Commission. Police officers are not ready to go against the rules because they can fall into trouble.” But this double speak is very common with our now ‘double-edged’ chief minister.
What baffles me, though, is how could Goa reach a level where even the chief minister needs to be questioned and does this new trend need to grow into a die-hard habit!
The authorities have decided to stop all entertainment around the IFFI venue by 10 pm. This is fair enough considering the law of the land and the directives for its strict implementation by the Supreme Court. We as Goans may have a different view to this restriction holds no water because we are bound by the rules of the land, unless someone finds a way to convince the SC about our views. But until such a time, we are bound by the laws on sound. But is the law applicable only to places on the shores of Goa? What happens ‘off-shore’? While Panjim is silenced at 10 pm, as far as entertainment on the land goes, the ‘Casino Pride’ offshore was reveling in festivities well past 10.30 pm even…
What was most interesting is that the loud music could be heard right at the Collectorate, in Panjim. But each of the authorities were ‘blissfully’ unaware of this. The upper deck of the ‘Off-shore Casino’ was ‘rocking’ as the new entertainment jargon would describe. The upper deck was the most ‘happening’ place just off the shores of Panjim while the authorities put Panjim to sleep! Again, this has been the double standards that have been encouraged by the government of the day.
It would do the government good to ensure that every citizen is treated with the same yardstick. The casinos included. There is always an elaborate hint thrown with almost every action of the government, that they do want to favor some group of citizens or the other. Is this part of the game: “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” that they seem to be playing at a personal level?
I was recently in New Delhi and had the opportunity of visiting the three-day Goa Festival organized by the Goenkarancho Ekvott at the national capital. I would say, it was indeed a lucky moment for the organizers to have the CM grace the occasion. Kumari Shelja, the union tourism minister inaugurated the event, but Mr Kamat was prominently absent for the most part of the inaugural function. He does not seem to have learnt from the lesson taught to him by Zakir Hussain at Margao some time ago. He arrived late as usual! But his wife Asha was there well in time and, in fact, it was announced that she was ‘representing’ him until his arrival.
But what was most interesting is that the president of Goenkarancho Ekvott, Mrs Suman Kurade, a lady who is dynamic and young at heart even at her respectable age, handles a lot of the Ekvott’s activities almost singlehandedly, got up to tell the CM that the regional plan must be notified quickly. But the CM was not present to listen. Was this planned or was it a coincidence? The echoes of issues plaguing Goa seems to be finding a voice all over the country. But is the CM listening? But then we all know that: “A man listens to what he wants to listen.”
Don’t get carried away by propaganda, Mr Kamat warns us. But what is the real propaganda here, is it the issues plaguing Goa or the hollow assurances given by the government? Are we really heading towards ‘sustainable development’ or are we going to continue to call issues related to that topic ‘propaganda’ and the ‘haphazard development’ that suit the CM and some of his cabinet colleagues as the true way to develop Goa? Mr Kamat, can you introspect and ask yourself this question? I am sure you will think as a Goan first and not a minister or a chief minister or even MLA when you look for the answers!
And one more thought, while I was at the national capital, I also noticed one more attention-grabbing fact. Goa Sadan, the place where many Goans find rest while in Delhi, is a beautiful place with nice lawns and a good number of vehicles parked behind the edifice. All the cars, mostly luxury sedans, have ‘Govt of Goa’ written prominently on their number plates. But speaking of the interesting fact I mentioned, there was something that met my curious eye. A white Merc (Mercedes Benz) majestically decorated the otherwise humble campus where even the toilets are not clean enough to visit. And things got even more interesting… The car wore a Goa registration number (GA 07 G 0001). Well, while in Goa the ministers and bureaucrats live in comparative austerity, and we must congratulate them for this, in Delhi they want to flaunt their lavish superiority. Maybe that is why so many of them would like to go to New Delhi so often. Surely all of them would be entitled to a jolly ride in the Merc! But mind you, they do it at our cost!!!
