[Goanet] NCP threatens Parrikar with Rs 5 cr defamation suit
From Deccan Herald May 5 NCP threatens Parrikar with Rs 5 cr defamation suit De Souza could emerge as Oppn consensus candidate vs Parrikar Devika Sequeira DH News Service PANAJI, May 4 As the pace of the election campaign here begins to pick up, so has the heat of the political debate. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former chief minister Wilfred De Souza has been the first to hit the peak of the election barometre. He threatened today to sue Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for damages of Rs 5 crore (50 million rupees), for attempting to defame him and tarnish his image before the state assembly election. Mr Parrikar who called Dr De Souza a liar at a media briefing on Friday, claimed the former chief minister had been fined Rs 2 lakh by the Supreme Court in a contempt case. Dr De Souza challenged the chief minister's claim, and produced copies of the court's March 5 order to prove that the case was still in the process of being heard and the matter, sub judice. Giving the public wrong information to defame me is the worst possible thing one can do at the time of election, the NCP leader said. He said he was in touch with his lawyer Kapil Sibal on the matter. He also sought an apology from the local newspapers, some of which carried the chief minister's statement verbatim. At issue here is not so much the intricacies of a four-year-old case filed against De Souza when he was chief minister, as the political equations at work behind the scenes for the Goa election. The NCP is at the moment engaged in talks with the Congress for an electoral seat adjustment. The party which announced that the BJP's defeat here was its primary target, has made no bones about the fact that it would like to see Mr Parrikar go at all costs, and promised to work for a secular alliance. If the NCP plays its cards well, Dr De Souza may well emerge as the consensus Opposition candidate against the chief minister for the Panjim seat. Sources close to Dr De Souza said he is up to taking on the challenge. Mr Parrikar has won two terms from the capital, a highly literate, urban constituency, with just over 14,000 voters. But his fondness for maintaining a tight-knit circle of RSS men around him and in key positions in government bodies, is believed to have have annoyed many of his former well-heeled business community supporters here. These are now working behind the scenes to finalise a consensus Opposition candidate against the outgoing chief minister./ends =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] NAVHIND: Goa is an idea
www.navhindtimes.com dated May 7, 2002 Goa is an idea and not a geography or history By PETER RONALD DE SOUZA Any discussion on the politics of Goa, in the run up to the elections, must begin with the recognition of the following four fundamental truths. The first truth is that there is a class of people in Goa who are more powerful than the politicians who govern the state. They rule Goa and do so from behind the scenes. No political party can go against their interests. Parties may at best cause them some discomfort but can never, never really, trouble them. The story of the River Princess illustrates this simple truth most graphically. To see a huge rusting ship sitting on Candolim beach for nearly two years, in spite of the state having all the agencies and all the regulatory structures to check maritime pollution and disasters, tells us a lot about the impotence of the state. The ruling class rules. All governments dance to their tune. The second truth is that the political class, i.e., politicians, bureaucrats, party functionaries, are a rentier class living on the wealth produced by the state of Goa. Politics in Goa is a rent-seeking activity. Politicians comprise a class of rent extractors. They are like the absentee bhatcars who cannot climb coconut trees, or plough paddy fields, yet live off the wealth produced by the land only because of an inherited right. The more rent the politicians can extract from the land, they will extract, and we will have to pay. That is the law of governance. The third truth is that one can reduce the rent we have to pay. Democracy as a form of government has the potential to be the least rent taking. But that requires, (a) competition among political leaders, this we must ensure, (b) a media which is vigilant and committed to exposing the abuses of power, this we must strive for, and (c) an active citizenry who are continuously demanding, protesting, challenging, exposing, organizing, mobilizing, and most of all treating the political class as their representatives and not their masters. Continuous protest is an end in itself. It checks the abuse of power. It makes the political class and the ruling class more circumspect. The fourth truth is that Goa is an idea. Not a geography, not a history, not a religion, but an idea of living together while living differently. Itis essentially a secular idea that has evolved through a troubled history. Multiple influences, from the Arab traders, to the Portuguese colonialists, to the charter tourists, to the migrant labour, and so on have shaped the culture of the land. We are a coastal people, accommodative, forward looking, cosmopolitan, non-aggressive. Our people have gone out from Mumbai to Mombasa, and brought back traces of the lands and culture they have visited. Others have come from distant lands, from Bengal to Bahrain, and incorporated Goa into their lives. Goa is a syncretic idea and any political party that seeks to undermine this is a party that looks at a rainbow and sees only a single colour. Goa is like the gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan adorned by a diversity of flowers. Even the roses have a variety of colours. Like a garden Goa has to be carefully nurtured. These four truths must be the starting point of all evaluations of the promises that politicians will make in the next three weeks. The last one, of the idea of Goa, was prompted by a comment made by the present acting Chief Minister, Mr Parrikar who informed the state that this year was the only year when Goas true culture was presented at the Republic day parade. True culture Mr Chief Minister! Does that mean that all the trophies we got in previous years were based on a portrayal of a false culture? That the national selection committees had been fooled. That all previous contingents from Goa had gone to Delhi to mislead the nation. When a Chief Minister talks of a true culture there is a chilling message for believers in diversity. Imagine a rainbow with only a true colour. But more about that later. Now for an evaluation of governance in Goa. The answer is clear. No party has been able to give us good governance. In the last fifteen years there has been a steady erosion of our democratic institutions and conventions. In addition to this, erosion of democratic practices, there has also been an atrophy of the developmental activity of the state. I have no place to go into all the details here. A simple cataloguing of the ills of governance will make the point: jumbo cabinets, repeated defections, a questionable dissolution, a bad precedent setting expansion of the contingency fund, political blackmail of political opponents and allies, violation of security norms by politicians at airports, destruction of urban habitats, etc and most of all taking orders from extra-constitutional authorities. The news item that appeared the other day in the papers is a measure of
goanet-digest V1 #3938
goanet-digest Tuesday, May 7 2002 Volume 01 : Number 3938 - In this issue: [Goanet] BB Cafe relocation plans [Goanet] HERALD: Tuesday Tunes [Goanet] NCP threatens Parrikar with Rs 5 cr defamation suit [Goanet] NAVHIND: Goa is an idea See end of digest for information on subscribing/unsusbcribing. -- Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 00:06:33 -0600 (MDT) From: B B Cafe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Goanet] BB Cafe relocation plans Hi, BB Caf=E9 is transplanting its seedlings. There's no longer enough space for our music, literary and miscellaneous workshop and institution building programmes to grow side by side in Panaji and so we have taken on a twin farmhouse complex set in a tranquil forested part of the Arpora region where these projects can evolve with plenty of breathing space. The new facility will also have accommodation for visiting professionals; an outdoor amphitheatre for cultural programmes and house the editorial offices of our forthcoming literary webzine.=20 All activities ( creperie; tea and coffee house; organic food store; designer product exhibitions; art exhibitions etc.) currently being conducted from Panaji will continue from Arpora from next season onwards. In addition, we have also been invited to open BB Caf=E9 outlets/ product-pick-up-points at Dona Paula (Synapse) and Palolem (Bhakti Kutir) and so our e-commerce programme (especially for hard to find children's books; rare teas; handmade papers and organic food) will continue refurbished from June 15th onwards after a brief break. ( Walkabout Bookshop, Anjuna will also become a BB Caf=E9 outlet/ product pick-up-point.) As far as BB Caf=E9 Panaji goes it is no longer possible for us to manage it personally. There are a few people who have expressed an interest in running this outlet on a franchise basis, however, and we are still talking. We will keep u informed as to its fate. For further information please refer to our website pranaline.com which will be ready for viewing by June 1st. All queries should be addressed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/05/2002. -- Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 11:36:51 +0530 From: Frederick Menezes [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Goanet] HERALD: Tuesday Tunes www.oherald.com dated May 7, 2002 TUESDAY TUNES KRC ticket to polls!? WANT A TICKET? Be well connected to the staff of the Konkan Railway Corporation, and you are sure to get one. Its peak season now for rail travel, and strangely, people holding managerial posts, who were recruited when George Fernandes was minister for railways, are busy issuing tickets not for rail travel but tickets to contest 20 seats that the Samata Party intends to do in the ensuing assembly elections. The Samata Party is all too willing to offer you a ticket. And, if you are connected to the staff of the Konkan Railway Corporation, then nothing like it. You are sure to get the Samata ticket. Reports are that George Fernandes party is hoping to contest the assembly elections in as many as 20 constituencies, to maintain its status as a national party. Deciding to contest an election is one thing for George, but implementing that decision, is quite another. Where will his Samata Party get the 20 candidates he intends to put up from? But for George its no problem. He can always fall back on Konkan Railway Corporation. After all it was his baby, and hes dumped hundreds of ayahs and male nurses to look after it. The former railway minister and current defence minister, has deputed a trusted lieutenant from Mumbai, one Martins, to finalise the list of candidates. To implement this plan, Martins who has no Goan political background, only has Fernandes solitary link to Goa the Konkan Railway Corporation to bank on. One of the senior KRC staff who is entrusted the duty of identifying candidates, revealed that given the short notice and they being non-Goans, it has become a nightmare for them to obey to their chiefs order. All isnt fair SO HOW DO you know that you will not get a ticket. Well, we guess, this Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Tiswadi got a clear hint, a while ago. One of the most reliable partymen and already a veteran of two assembly elections, this aspirant was literally shrugged aside, during a press conference, last week. When before a press conference, the aspirant came to the dais to announce, how fake names had been inserted in the electoral rolls, by his rival to be. Well, before he could start, he was told by a party heavyweight to move aside, so that the press conference could begin. Who said, all is fair in politics? Water woes SO THE WATER situation in Goa is very good eh? Ask anybody visiting the Goa Medical College, Bambolim. Several eye-witnesses claim, that the water scarcity is such, that even
[Goanet] Tourism in Goa hit by Gujarat violence
Headline: Tourism in Goa hit by Gujarat violence Source: Hindustan Times 7 May 2002 at http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/070502/dlnat10.asp By: KSR Menon (PTI) Dubai, May 7 Hit by Gujarat violence and fighting in Afghanistan, Goa is planning roadshows in the Gulf countries to attract Arab tourists, a senior Tourism officials said. Fifteen percent of domestic tourists to Goa are from Gujarat and there has been a dip in arrivals from the trouble-torn state recently, Goa Tourism Director, N Suryanarayana told PTI. The roadshow, organised to promote Goa tourism, to Arabs who may find it attractive to travel eastward in view of the tighter security checks on Arabs and Asians in the Western countries, he said attending the Arabian travel market exhibition here. Chartered tourist flights recorded 40 per cent drop after September last year but was showing signs of revival, Joao Xavier Miranda, Director, of Cicerone Air Transport Services, Margoa, has said. Suryanarayana said foreign tourist arrivals fell at least ten per cent last year down from three lakhs in 2000-2001 to 2.65 lakhs the next year. Even though, Goa was more than 2500 kms away from Afghanistan, many foreign tourists dropped plans to visit the state fearing security problems. ** From Gulf News 7 May: Headline: Tourist arrivals decline in India Excerpt: Tour operators, airlines and hotel managers say religious violence in the western state of Gujarat state has prompted many to cancel holidays. Full text at: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=22474Sn=BUSI ** Don't forget - you saw it on GoaNet! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] MONEYMATTERS: Currency value of the Indian rupee....
Currency rates supplied by InfoLedge.com Your base currency is : INR AED 13.330702 AUD 26.416617 BHD 129.880637 BRL 20.342750 CHF 30.787852 DEM 22.924762 DKK 6.031955 ESP 0.269477 EUR 44.837250 FRF 6.835441 GBP 71.900206 IQD 158.104617 IRR 0.006179 ITL 0.023157 JOD 69.062059 JPY 0.384915 KES 0.625351 KWD 160.435780 MOP 6.096847 NLG 20.346131 NOK 5.917078 NZD 21.941217 PKR 0.817446 PTE 0.223647 QAR 13.450076 RUB 1.567131 SAR 13.056637 SEK 4.827896 SGD 27.157515 TZS 0.050479 USD 48.965000 End of Currency rates AED - UAE Dirham AUD - Australian Dollar BHD - Bahraini Dinar BRL - Brazilian Real CHF - Swiss Franc DEM - German mark DKK - Danish Krone ESP - Spanish Peseta EUR - Euro FRF - French Franc GBP - Pound Sterling GEL - Lari IQD - Iraqi Dinar IRR - Iranian Rial ITL - Italian Lira JOD - Jordanian Dinar JPY - Yen KES - Kenyan Shilling KWD - Kuwaiti Dinar MOP - Pataca NLG - Dutch Guilder NOK - Norwegian Krone NZD - New Zealand Dollar OMR - Rial Omani PKR - Pakistan Rupee PTE - Portuguese Escudo QAR - Qatari Rial RUB - Russian Ruble SAR - Saudi Riyal SEK - Swedish Krona SGD - Singapore Dollar TZS - Tanzanian Shilling USD - United States Dollar =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] Something to think about
Something to think about I have been following the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians with foreboding. Everyday, I watch Israeli tanks and helicopters crush the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. Then I watch the coverage of the carnage from a suicide bombing. Then I watch Ariel Sharon, who increasingly appears to me like a Jewish Hitler, turn around and say Arafat is not doing enough to arrest Palestinian guerillas and dissuade young Palestinians from killing themselves and busloads of Israelis. And George Bush agrees. And Tim Sebastian, whose IQ is possibly even lower than George's but who, unlike George, can usually express himself in grammatical sentences, acts like he's George's personal spokesperson and grills the European Union guy on why the EU wants to impose sanctions on Israel. I change the channel, only to get a dose of Vajpayee saying he can't face the world because of Gujarat. Out-of-control violence based on fundamentalist belief systems seems to be on the rise everywhere. My mind clicks on the fact that Gujarat is a lot closer to home than the West Bank. And I get a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. I try to convince myself that nothing like that could happen here, in our little tropical enclave. Come on, I say to myself, Goans are so laid back, they don't even have the energy for that sort thing. And I look around. Under the current caretaking government, some of our most corrupt politicians have been neutralized under what is coming to be known as the dossier system. The availability of basic amenities and services seems to have improved, the roads are being taken care of, the city is cleaner, things work, traffic is better controlled, and every time I cross the Mandovi Bridge after 12 pm, the cops are out there doing their job and protecting civilians. Okay, I think, sure, some degree of fundamentalism exists among Goans, like that time my friend of many years, Ashok Chowgule, got mad at me because he thought I was the author of a Reuters piece criticizing the VHP (it wasn't me, although I am clearly not a cheering fan of the VHP). But he's a still a staunch VHP man and we're still friends, so how serious can the communal issue really be here in Goa? I look at the palm trees swaying and the gentle beating of waves against the shore, and it is so easy to feel that nothing is really too out of whack in my little world (except for the looming vision of the River Princess). Oh, but then I remember the mosque that got wiped out, which somehow became a non-issue. And there was the church that allegedly burnt down because of some candles. And there was that business during the bandh which was declared after the Godhra incident, when thugs were running around Goa threatening shop keepers and burning tires on the road, and we were afraid to go out-that's definitely a new thing. And, wait a minute, wasn't our man one of the kar sevaks who went rushing off to Ayodhya to help tear down the Babri Masjid? Hmmm. Something for people to think about during the upcoming elections. Smething else to think about: April 18th is World Heritage Day. To commemorate it, Heritage and Conservation groups plan to have a public celebration at the Panjim Municipal Garden, starting at 5 pm. The objective is to revive the public use of the garden, which has a noteworthy architectural heritage history. Accordingly, musicians, artists, theatre groups are being invited to attend and perform for the public. They have agreed to do this free of cost. The Police Band, which in earlier times used to play regularly at the garden bandstand, is being invited to kick off the event. Press releases will be out this week encouraging the public to participate in the celebration. People are advised to bring some candles, since the garden is not very well lit. (Nobody is worried about the bandstand accidentally burning down.) I personally hope this will give the Municipality some alternative ideas on how this space can be utilized, other than filling it with fake fiberglass mountains and absurd toilets in the shape of castles. After all, the Municipal garden is not Disneyland. Maybe I'll see you there. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
Re: [Goanet] FT: Pat Buchanan replies to Dinesh D'Souza
On Tue, 7 May 2002, Eddie Fernandes wrote: Solzhenitsyn was speaking about France and the America I grew up in, a country that people like D'Souza would convert into a commercial mall for all mankind, what Teddy Roosevelt called a polyglot boarding house for the world. Anyone who could write what D'Souza wrote does not know what it means to be an American. Does not know what it means to be an American is the favorite phrase of the nationalists who exist in every country. The last word can be subsituted for any country of the world. The question is, what is it to be an American? Or what does one have to do to be an American? Usually, for the Pat Buchanan-type, it usually means little more than their own narrow definition of self-identity that typically reflects an aversion to change. -- Tariq Siddiqui [ This Space for Rent ] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
