------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html -------------------------------------------------------
For favour of publication, please. Averthanus _____ BJP - THE REAL ENEMY. Averthanus L. D'Souza. In the feverish debate and discussion which is ongoing prior to the election on June 4th. 2007, the emphasis, somehow, has been on removing corruption which has eaten into the very vitals of our government. The citizens seem to be battering their heads against a stone wall, and they are being told that corruption is an integral part of politics. Some politicians are more corrupt than others. That is the only difference. The faint-hearted and the undiscriminating citizens almost believe this to be true, and they are becoming cynical of the efforts to remove corruption from the administration. The truth is that if every individual seriously commits herself or himself to fight corruption, we can most definitely succeed in eliminating corruption from the system. The secret of success lies in persevering and not giving in, but in fighting valiantly on. The unfortunate side-effect, however, is that the dilemma which faces the voter is couched in the alternative of "corruption versus communalism." This is a false proposition. The problem facing the electorate is that BOTH corruption and communalism are unacceptable to the culture of Goa. The Bharatiya Janata Party is promising that it will provide a corruption free administration if it is elected to power. It is trying very hard to capitalize on the anti-corruption wave which is currently sweeping Goa. There are many (even enlightened) citizens who are prepared to bring back the BJP to power just in order to curb the corruption which is so rampant in the Congress administration. Of course, this would be a fatal error. It would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. A careful and objective analysis of the past performance of the BJP in Goa (as well as in other States in India) shows that the BJP is as corrupt as the Congress. It certainly cannot claim to be less corrupt than the Congress. Corruption seems to have eroded the political establishment like a cancer, irrespective of ideological leanings. It is clear, therefore, that the choice before the citizens is NOT "corruption versus communalism." In addition to corruption, the Bharatiya Janata Party has the dubious distinction of being a fascist party. It has no use for democratic principles. In fact, it considers democratic processes as being impediments to good government. It prefers autocratic (read dictatorial) government to democratic government. Manohar Parriker has already given Goa a taste of his predilection for autocratic rule. Because he was not satisfied with the sluggish performance of the various departments of the government, he set up a multitude of corporations to do the work which the departments should have been doing. In the process he not only rendered the departments redundant, he opened the doors to a whole new arena of corruption. Works were undertaken without following the prescribed procedures. Contracts were given to organizations which were "loyal" to the BJP, and not on the basis of their competence and competitiveness. This is no secret. The audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India are on record. What Parrikar achieved, in fact, was the establishment of two parallel administrations. This caused considerable confusion. Citizens who needed help were shunted from department to Corporation (pillar to post). No specific agency could be pinned down to accept responsibility for problems. In the matter of infrastructure, the PWD (which is normally responsible for works) passed the buck on to the Goa Infrastructure Development Corporation. If there was a problem of sewage intruding into the drinking water supply system, the Public Health Engineering department (of the PWD) passed the blame on to the Sewerage Development Corporation. Instances of crossing wires can be multiplied. The end result was that no Department of the government accepted any responsibility for failures. Citizens had to approach the Chief Minister even to get redress for minor problems. Parrikar became the (sole) Super Manager of the government. He was seen on the streets, supervising the work of hot-mixing of roads and laying of water pipes. In ordinary terms, the government had ceased to function. Only the Chief Minister was keeping the government machine going. What is more insidious (and more dangerous) about the BJP is it's close and integral association with the RSS. (The Rashtriya Sevak Samaj). It is no secret that the RSS is a fundamentalist, fascist organization which equates nationalism with Hindutva. Also that the BJP is the political wing of the RSS just as the ABVP, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other bodies are wings (often called "frontal" organizations) of the RSS. The writings of Veer Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar are completely unambiguous about the ideology of Hindutva. At this point, it must be emphatically clarified that, fortunately, Hindutva is not equivalent with Hinduism. Hinduism (as a religion) does not support Hindutva. Hindutva is not derived from Hinduism. It is a political ideology which seeks to justify its existence on the basis of Hinduism, just as Nazism sought to justify its political programme on the basis of a cultural German Nationalism. The entire world knows what happens when a narrow definition of nationalism is equated with cultural or ideological chauvinism. There is no doubt whatsoever that the BJP is the political wing of the RSS - irrespective of all the disclaimers that may be made by its leaders. The smooth talk about its secular credentials is only a strategy to win over the minority communities. It should be discounted. It is like the tiger loudly proclaiming its vegetarianism. A brief article (such as this) precludes any elaboration of the philosophical and ideological underpinnings of the BJP. Suffice it to say that the BJP is definitely a more deadly alternative to the Congress or to the other local political outfits. Citizens will do well to decisively reject the BJP in the forthcoming elections. Averthanus L. D'Souza, D-13, La Marvel Colony, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004. Tel: 2453628. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/attachments/20070523/2569d157/attachment.html ------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------