To Goanet - I shall keep this brief.
When Manohar Parrikar was swept back to power in March 2012 with a mandate, there was widespread acceptance among Goans that this was divine intervention and that Goa may have finally gotten a reprieve. As someone who rooted for Manohar-bab, I was relieved and cautiously optimistic. As was my good friend, Dr. Anil Desai. It is not that we were unaware of his past mistakes and failings. But we hoped that given his intelligence he would have learnt some hard lessons, and that distance from power had afforded him the time to reflect on Goa and its problems. Furthermore, the alternative was - well, there was none. Goa had been held hostage by a criminal cabal, the Digambars, the Pratapsings, the Vishwajeets, the Churchills, the Monserrates, all deserving of jail time. I have laid out in some detail in Goan forums what I think are the core issues before Goa: indiscriminate construction & megaprojects, destruction of Goa's environment, land conversion, migrant influx, misguided tourism policy, law & order, garbage, and so on. And I have had the opportunity to have a one-on-one with Manohar-bab on more than one occasion to trade ideas on these matters. This had given me a measure of confidence and under his leadership I looked forward to a new direction for Goa. I knew for certain that the beautiful, pleasant, peaceful Goa we grew up in was now history. The best we could do was arrest its decay into the Indian gutter. All you need do is look around you and see what Indian cities and towns have become. We still had a chance to keep Goa a somewhat pleasant and civilized place (relatively speaking). It is now almost 15 months into the Parrikar administration. Not only has Manohar-bab not addressed the crucial issues, he has entered upon a mission to make things worse. From almost Day 1, he wanted to go ahead with Mopa, a project that, if pursued, will forever change the face of Goa. We saw no justification, no study, no analyses, no heed to counterarguments, no taking people into confidence. Only handwaving and assertions that Mopa is necessary for Goa. Well, Mopa is a scam (which is why the BJP and Congress are united in its pursuit) calculated to be a cash cow for the political parties, politicians, builders and those who have bought land in the area. Within a couple of months, Manohar Parrikar had reneged on so many promises (the U-turns) that it wasn't funny. The IIT supergenius had made it a habit to overestimate his intelligence. Now we see that the Regional Plan has been deliberately put on hold so that the builders can push through their pet pending projects. 3 massive construction projects are coming up (all aimed at outsiders) in the vicinity of Panjim, and the sorry excuse Manohar gives is that they were approved by the past govt. But what happened to the promise of "zero tolerance to corruption"? Even a child can tell that each of these projects is in violation of regulations. It is, of course, no mystery why Manohar Parrikar has winked at these megaprojects. Manohar was spitting fire at casinos when he was in the opposition but now we know that he is effectively the casino honcho's bellboy. The pooh-bah says "Jump" and Manohar asks, "How high?" As is well known, this pooh-bah is also behind the Ashok Beleza project. How many more construction and hotel projects of the casino big boy has Manohar winked at? We would like to know. It is becoming abundantly clear that Manohar Parrikar is selling Goa out to influential people from Mumbai and Delhi, all in the name of "development." Wasn't this the same mantra of the earlier Congress criminals, that they were doing it all for "development"? How are you any different, Manohar-bab? Manohar Parrikar has shown himself to be a coward for he had a great opportunity to chart a new course, bring in a new political culture, share a bold new vision (one that did not involve land and concrete). He has failed to lead. And there is no excuse; he had a political majority and Goans were for months solidly behind him. He is a coward for he has avoided meeting those who would dare question him on his dubious decisions and links to nefarious wealthy outsiders. To sumamrize: Manohar Parrikar is corrupt, deceitful, and a coward. Other than that he is the greatest IITian or whatever. r
