Parrikar is on probation
Chief Minister in waiting Manohar Parrikar is on probation.
The people of Goa have sacked the Congress and delivered their angry
votes to the BJP and to the independents. But there’s a fine line
between sacking a party and appointing another one. The BJP has not been
anointed with power because of its self. It is an angry anti incumbency
vote and the BJP has been its obvious recipient because it was in the
best position to receive it.
The biggest challenge before Manohar Parrikar is to convey this anti-
Congress vote into a pro- Parrikar acceptance and that will happen
through a slow and steady process of delivery. The specific challenges
under the umbrella of the broader challenge are two. The first is a
perception correction challenge that he is anti- minority. That has been
addressed to a large extent by the fact that all their Catholic
candidates including the ones they supported - a grand total of 8, have
won. Imagine 8 Catholic MLAs in BJP coalition camp. Of the 26 MLAs. Now
comes the time to honour that faith. Parrikar realises this and one of
the first comments of the Chief Minister- in- waiting was “ The
Catholics have reposed so much faith in me. I will pay them back in
gratitude and work”. But this is no easy challenge. The Catholics will
watch him far more carefully than they did during the Congress rule and
the new Chief Minister will have to live with it. Firstly, he needs to
reach out to Catholic parents and share with them the solution he has to
solve the vexed medium of Instruction issue. Secondly he needs to honour
his promise of denotifying the flawed Regional Plan 2021 and going back
to the people to draw a fresh one which will include the good parts of
the existing RP so that the wheel is not reinvented but the diseased
portions of the plan are replaced by what the people in the villages
really want and not be hostage to builders close to the State level
committee.
While the second issue affects the whole of Goa, there is no denying
that the nerve centre of the agitation against the Regional plan was in
Salcette and mainly led by Catholics.
Parrikar must understand that while his support from the traditional
Hindu vote bank was always there, the X factor in these elections have
been the Catholic. The Catholics however do not expect additional
favours. They want a level playing field and a greater good to Goa,
which was denied by the previous government.
He is also confronted with huge administrative challenges.
The economy of Goa is in shambles. Coupled with that is the financial
burden on the government if it has to fulfill many of Parrikar’s pre-
poll promises. Moreover the revenue from mining is going to fall
substantially because of large scale curbs. So he needs to minimize
loses, ensure recoveries of revenue and raise taxes and cess in some
areas without burdening the common man.
Delivery is also expected on the mining front. The Shah Commission
report has to be expedited and his own PAC report on illegal mining
should be tabled. Manohar Parrikar, is known to be a lover of good food.
But now he has to get into the kitchen of administration and serve a
dish of good governance to very demanding connoisseurs.
http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=3737&boxid=14741453&uid=&dat=3%2f7%2f2012
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protect Goa's natural beauty
Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve
Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
