Invest in properties back home: Alemao
By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY : A well-known Indian minister Wednesday urged NRIs to invest in
properties back home, even as he said that the Goa government passed a law
banning the sale of land to foreign nationals. Churchill Alemao, the Goan
Cabinet Minister of Public Works and Development (PWD), arrived in Kuwait
Monday on a five-day private visit accompanied by his family members. In an
interview to the Arab Times, the former chief minister added that the Goa
government is going to confiscate the properties presently owned by
foreigners thereby auctioning them off. "The influence of undesirable
elements is growing in certain pockets of North Goa," lamented Alemao.
Lauding the contribution of NRIs, the congressman noted that they have been
instrumental in propelling the economy of the country, even as he implored
them to continue sending remittances. He also said that the Goa government
has passed a law which safeguards the properties of NRIs. Alemao, who has
emerged as a political heavyweight over the last few years, said that the
NRIs should come out with their grievances and that he was willing to take
them up with the concerned authorities back home.
"Some people blame us for not doing enough for the welfare of NRIs. What I
say is that...NRIs should brief us on problems facing them and we will try
our best to address them. At the same time, the NRIs should also try to give
back something for their country," added Alemao, who quit his Lok Sabha seat
last year to contest the Goa state assembly elections. When informed about
the lack of a football ground for Indian expats following the loss of Soor
ground, he said: "I will discuss the matter with the concerned Indian
minister and we will see what we can do."
On British teen Scarlett Keeling who was recently found dead on a Goan
beach, the minister said that certain countries tried to play up the
incident with the aim of scaring away tourists and that these countries were
ruffled by the ever-increasing number of tourists to Goa. The stalwart
politico said that the Scarlett incident has had no negative impact on the
tourism industry in Goa and that international tourists were still coming to
Goa in droves. He added that government should have handled the whole
incident in a tactful manner by appointing a Public Relations Officer (PRO)
to disseminate information to the media "which blew the issue out of
proportion."
Imapct
Alemao, who runs one of the top soccer clubs in India, blamed the mother of
the victim for leaving the child in the care of a stranger and added that
the sole objective of the mother following the death of her daughter was to
secure the insurance money. On the sting operation that was conducted
against him a few years ago, the minister said that he was framed by a
journalist and that the video clips were smartly edited to look as if he was
involved in a wrongful act. "But my party stood by me. Not only that, an
inquiry against me provided me a clean chit." Pooh poohing allegations that
he tried to shield the two brothers involved in the recent attack on the
parish priest of Tilamol, Quepem, he said that some vested interests were
trying to sully his reputation and that he was instrumental in garnering
support for the said priest.
"Soon after the incident, one of my supporters, John, called me, and I
instructed him to muster support for the priest. I condemned the incident in
strong words. It was a shameful act. My detractors should turn the pages of
history and see what I have done to the church. The thing is that I do not
wish to draw any mileage from such issues but when people raise a finger of
accusation at me, I am left with no other option but to defend myself," the
minister thundered.
The minister observed that he has proposed a mono rail project for Goa and
that he was in the process of mobilizing support for the same. As a PWD
minister, he said his immediate priority is to improve the infrastructure
and he was leaving no stone unturned to see his vision come full circle.
To a question as to what prompted him to rejoin the Congress party, he said
that the party in question fulfilled all his demands, including scrapping of
the Mopa airport, scrapping of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as well as
quashing the Regional plan.
Alemao was all praise for Manohar Parrikar, the former chief minister of BJP
and opposition leader, even as he described him as "a right person in the
wrong party."
Referring to his future political plans, the former chief minister observed
that he does not intend to stay in politics for too long and that he would
at best contest two more elections. "Having said that, I will continue to
work for my party and that is going to be my priority," he added.
Replying to another question whether he would contest the next Lok Sabha
elections, he said he was not looking beyond state politics at the moment.
To a question whether his lawyer daughter, Valanka would contest the
forthcoming parliamentary elections, he noted that she is yet to decide on
this issue and would take the decision at an opportune time.
Alemao was unequivocal in his praise to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi whom he
described as dynamic and charismatic leaders and believes both are ready to
don the mantle of prime ministership. "They may be young but both are
politically astute and can rise to any occasion and this clearly puts them
ahead of others."
Asked to comment on the opposition party's claim that the Congress
government was expected to fall soon, he said he was confident that the
government would complete its full term and that some elements were trying
to sow seeds of discord.
"These elements will fall flat. The Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat is doing
a fine job and I don't think there should be any cause for a rebellion in
the party at this point of time."
Lamenting the lack of governmental support to football in the country, he
said the sport in question was getting step-motherly treatment and that
cricket was given too much importance. "It is about time that the
authorities also pay attention to other sports in the country. India has got
footballing talent but we need to create a mechanism to harness this talent.
We have to lay emphasis on a youth programme."
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