Here is a post from Rajan Parrikar on http://groups-beta.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.goa?hl=en
A couple of weeks ago I wrote to Shri Sujay Gupta, Editor of Gomantak Times and one of ex-CM Manohar Parrikar's vociferous and strident critics. All these months Shri Gupta's diatribes against Manohar Parrikar have been shrill and bereft of substance. In my email, I expressed the opinion that a vigilant and free press was crucial to the functioning of a healthy democratic government, and that I did not consider Manohar Parrikar or his government to be beyond the ambit of criticism. That a responsible press ought to hold the government's feet to the fire. But the press should not be exempt from criticism either, particularly when an editor masquerades as a dispassonate critic when in truth he is a partisan blowhard and an intolerant hack. Gupta's screed in the Gomantak Times has struck me as juvenile, and his lack of knowledge and historical perspective of the Goan political landscape appalling. I proposed to Shri Gupta that I would organise a public debate between him and Manohar Parrikar in Panjim in the month of July when I will be in Goa, at a place and time of his (Gupta's) choosing. I suggested that this would preferably be an unmoderated forum, but if he so desired we could have 2 moderators, one named by Shri Gupta and the other nominated by Manohar Parrikar. The idea was to make it a fair & level playing field where (hopefully) a substantive exchange of ideas and opinions would be registered. The only stipulation was that this be a civil, dignified affair, without personal attacks or smears. My role would be that of an organiser, with responsibility for arranging the entire event and defraying all expenses related to it. All Gupta had to do was show up at the auditorium (likewise for Manohar Parrikar). Sujay Gupta wrote back to me and we exchanged 2 or 3 emails. After the initial round of hemming and hawing, he questioned my "secular" credentials, then called me a "stooge" of Manohar Parrikar. I pointed out that "secular" is itself a Christian notion and that I was proud to be "non-secular" on that count. Manohar Parrikar comes from the collateral branch of our family, his father and my father were very good friends, but I have only a passing acquaintance with Manohar-bab. We have met just once, 2 years ago at an airport, and our interaction was limited to exchanging pleasantries. I presented this information to Shri Gupta and asked whether he had any evidence that I wasn't aware of to prove that I was Manohar Parrikar's "stooge." I asked him if he, an editor of a major Goan daily, would similarly smear every Goan supporter and voter of the BJP as a "stooge" of Manohar Parrikar. It was abundantly clear that Shri Gupta, who is a tiger behind his Editor's desk, had suddenly turned chicken when called upon to publicly account for the bilge he has been pouring out in newsprint for a while now. My invitation to him still stands: debate Manohar Parrikar in public. If July is uncomfortably close, let us schedule an event later this year in December. I am attaching my final email to Sujay Gupta below. I will soon be getting in touch with Manohar Parrikar and telling him about Gupta, the Chicken-in-Chief of Gomantak Times. Warm regards, r ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Shri Gupta, Thank you for your response. Your continued name-calling and wild assertions lay bare the poverty of your case. You have no arguments to offer; the best you can do is call me a "stooge" of Manohar Parrikar. Are all the people who support and vote for Mr. Parrikar and the BJP his "stooges" as well? You are no less intolerant than the people you love to despise. With each email, you have strenghtened my charge that you have NOTHING on Mr. Parrikar, but only ad hominems to offer your readers. The current strength in the Goa Assembly is 21-19. In other words, a couple of seats can swing the tide either way. Is this your idea of a wipe-out? If you study the recent election results, you will understand that the aggregate votes the BJP received remain unchanged (I don't have the figures handy right now, but you can find them easily) and the core BJP vote-bank remains undiminished. It is not Parrikar's "arrogance" that lead to the BJP defeat, as your simplistic 'analysis' has it. There are a host of other factors. But far be it from me to stand in the way of you and your woolly fantasies. Finally: you cannot call me a "stooge" and at the same time claim that you have nothing personal against me. It is clear that you are intolerant of people who hold and express political views different than the ones you cherish. This says more about YOU than it does about ME. In summation, as I mentioned earlier, you want to hide behind the safety of your editorial desk (I mean that metaphorically not literally) and snipe. You finally turned chicken when challenged to a public debate and erected bogus reasons for backing out. Too bad, Shri Gupta - I had presumed you to be a man of intellectual heft, instead you turned out to be a garden-variety pamphleteer. ------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________ Discover Yahoo! Use Yahoo! to plan a weekend, have fun online and more. Check it out! http://discover.yahoo.com/