Appeared in Gomantak Times -- March 2 -------------------------------------------------------- Dance of the macabre
Eugene Correia After finishing their somersaults, flirting, wooing, double-dealing, back-stabbing and you-scratch-my-back-and-I-scratch-yours embrace, the politicians are now busy for the real test. We have seen strange sort of behaviour from some of them, like jumping frogs not knowing where to land. Some landed on manicured grass, some on hard ground and some in a soup. Some behaved by bulls in a china shop, destroying the parties in which they cur their political teeth or helped build to its present state. Even those in the cosy position of being party office-bearers have crossed over to another party when denied tickets or contesting as independents. On both sides, the party and the member's, loyalty has been thrown to the wind or compromised. The candidates are performing the dance of the macabre. It is little wonder that politicians are rated at the bottom of the index for trustworthiness. Voters are aware they most politicians speak with either forked tongues or from both sides of their mouths. Their words often carry no weight, just spoken into the microphones at meetings and rallies and into ears of those who care to listen. Their deadpan newspaper interviews and unintelligible sound bites are made of the usual stuff of platitudes -- encouraging economic development, spreading social justice, uplifting of the poor and abolishing corruption at all levels. These issues have been raised in the past and will continue to be raised in the future as the stocj0n-trade political mantra. But politicians repeating them ad nauseum have drained the meaning - and significance - from these politically-loaded terms. In an election, meetings and rallies are a must, for without them it will neither sound nor look like elections. Voters may feel disgusted at some of the candidates who knock their doors and some voters may shut their doors in the candidates' faces. On the part of the voters, it is indeed uncivil not to open the doors and receive the handbills or flyers or just lend them their ears. But sometimes the voter may be compelled to vent his anger for either some personal hurt or for not getting promised help from a politician or just abject hatred for the political class. Goans get fed-up when an election arrives. It disturbs their daily life, as they seem to consider it more like an intrusion. Most voters think an election is a futile exercise as they feel those who are seeking re-election as well as those seeking to get back into the assembly after getting dumped in the last or previous elections are marauders. In past elections, many who came as fresh faces with fresh outlook on pressing issues have got their faces blackened by getting involved into nefarious activities. Those who showed hope of being good legislators have failed miserably. Once the newly-elected MLAs grow in political, social and economic stature they began to act like tinpot dictators or "new maharajas". Their egos wouldn't fit into a barn door. They expect you to pay your respects to them either as mandatory obligation or ritualistic obeisance. These political gods of no small things, who feel they have been placed high on the pedestal for public worship, want voters prostrate before them for even rudimentary favours. The stories of some MLAs accumulating wealth through dubious means after serving a term or two belong to fairy-tale books. There are few cases of these unscrupulous politicians getting ruined by their own nemesis. Voters may or may not be gullible, for most voters know which MLA has performed well or badly. Voters who are rooting for a disgraced MLAs are probably doing so because either the voter or his or her family or friends may have benefitted in some way through the help of the MLA. Or, perhaps, the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor comes into play. It need not be emphasised that corruption is the number one plank of the parties, particular those in the opposition, but the parties are as guilty of letting MLAs engage in corrupt practices as the MLAs themselves for looting the state exchequer. Some of the known corrupt and criminally-charged MLAs are wearing these labels as badges of honour. No amount of public or media criticism seems to make a deep dent on their political career or their conscience. They rarely abandon their illicit or immoral activities. These MLAs or ministers appear to be well-shielded through the unholy police-politician nexus. This nexus is as worse, if not worst, as the politician-mafia nexus and the police-mafia nexus. A less devious nexus is that of business-politician. All these nexuses do not do any good to the ordinary citizen. Goans are caught in the interlocking of these malfeasance bodies. Civil-minded persons and NGOs fighting them and exposing them in their efforts to break down these choking intra-rings or rings-within-rings have met with little success. This election Goans in many constituencies are presented with a Hobson's choice when it comes to electing those among the tried and tested politicians. Voters can put an end to the shenanigans of MLAs who have shown utter disrespect to the norms governing civil society or failing to live up to the expectations of his voters by voting for a newcomer or a candidate who was best choice in the previous election but lost out due to the winner's use of money power or muscle power or because of vote-splitting caused by the plantation of a "dummy" candidate. Caution must be taken regarding the newcomers, either as independents or on loan to alliance partners, as some among them appear as puppets of some national parties' candidates who are favourites to win and may need the help of the newcomers, if elected, and also if their respective party comes to power, at the bargaining table for slices of the winning cake. Some independent candidates with no known ties to any political party or politician, though they may enjoy overt or covert support from parties, seem to be of good material that are worth a voter's gamble. Lastly, the 49-0 option is available if a voter wants to case a "negative" vote against the slate of candidates. It's a lost vote, no doubt, but it gives the voter the satisfaction of registering his or her protest. A vote is one good weapon a voter has in a democracy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------