In the office of Union Minister of State for Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India Shripad Naik…photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi up on the wall, the inscrutable look !
IT IS always a treat to drop in at a press conference in the plush office of Union Minister of State for Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India Shripad Naik. His office is located on the ground floor of Paryatan Bhavan at Patto and is very media friendly which Shripad bab himself one of our more affable ministers who answers queries easily in Konkani, Hindi or English. Plus, his office lays out a spread of goodies ranging from scrumptious samosa, mava peda, tea without milk, tetrapack apple juice and more (I wondered from where the samosa were for the Paryatan Bhavan canteen has been closed for past two months).
This visit around I noticed that the walls of Shripad bab’s office are filling up with more and more pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi! It’s an otherwise interesting office too. The latest briefing on Thursday, November 3, was on behalf of the Matrubhumi Seva Pratishtan of which he is the president. It is celebrating one of the Central government’s program Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by distributing the “pratima of Bharat Mata” or images of the goddess Bharat-mata astride a lion and with the Indian tricolor in hand, to 75 temples across Goa. Several camps are also being organized by the Pratishtan which has a large membership of senior citizen freedom fighters and ex-servicemen.
According to the frail looking freedom fighter Dr Govind Kale and Gurudas Kunde (secretary of the Goa Freedom Fighters Association) the camps will cater to the needs of seniors vis-à-vis checking their eyesight and gifting them with spectacles if they need them. Reportedly, about 50 or so freedom fighters still live in their 80s and plus, plus years. From the sound of it the association has a membership of both freedom fighters and ex-defence servicemen.
Later while talking to media person Shripad bab made no bones about how drugs are pushing up illegalities and crime in Goa. Supported by the Central government, he said, both Rohan Khaunte and the State are going all out to fight drugs availability in tourist areas. Speaking to one of the online channels he was quoted saying that “Drugs tarnish the name of the country and I feel it needs to be curbed.” Never mind that Goa has already acquired the reputatioin of being a drugs, casino and call girl destination with some Central functionaries actually seeing nothing wrong with this as a tourist paradise!
At least Shripad bab has no compunction coming out and saying that drug activities are very definitely destroying the image of safe domestic and international tourism in Goa. Queried about other things he replied that is some good news in that the new national greenfield airport of Mopa is going through final finishing touches in preparation for Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Goa to inaugurate it, along with other projects like the first phase of the Zuari bridge makeover and the All India Institute of Ayurveda at Dhargalim which is coming up well. The PM is expected in Goa on December 8 but this is not confirmed yet.
CORRUPTION RAJ?
IS Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant trying to divert corruption issues in which the state is steeped by gimmicks like the Public Grievance Portal, knowing full well how everyone’s and are tied? Why has he not taken action on the 21 Lokayukta orders submitted against public functionaries including former and current ministers by Goa Lokayukta Justice (Retired) Prafulla Kumar Misra? Or so asks Congress leader Girish Chodankan whose word carries weightage in Goan politics.
According to Girish, the chief minister mindfully safeguards BJP MLAs against allegations, “Had he initiated action against the tainted ministers by implementing the recommendations of Lokayukta?” With his protection of Cabinet colleagues Sawant well knows nobody will dare to complaints as “we all know how tactics are used by BJP to suppress voice.”
If implementation of the Goa Right of citizens to Time-Bound Delivery of Public Services Act is done properly then there will be no scope for corruption! However, without any sign of implantation of anything alogn these lines, “By now one thing is clear and that is BJP can’t live without doing corruption. Hence, time frame is not set for any work and Sawant is not taking action against his ministers. If he can suspend government employees then why no action on corrupt ministers?”
In the light of all this just launching the anti-corruption portal is a farce and nothing is going to change, “This most corrupt government has a cabinet full of corrupt ministers….if government was serious in fighting corruption it would have dropped Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho who is facing serious corruption charges in court filed by BJP itself. They would have not admitted former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat against whom Louis Berger cases are pending, filed again by BJP government. BJP has destroyed mining dependents by claiming Rs35,000 crore mining loot by Digambar Kamat. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane with evidence exposed land related corruption by Michael Lobo, who was also admitted by BJP.”
All this and more. Chodankar pointed out that the entire government recruitment was compromised by bypassing the Goa Staff Selection Commission and transparency, “Jobs were sold for cash depriving deserving candidates. Various ministers and BJP functionaries involved in various scam which include casino scam, GMC medicine scam, covid and oxygen scam, ODP scam, land conversion scam, drugs scam, labour scam, Zuari land scam, Atal Setu bridge scam, SEZ payment scam, Panjim smart city scam, taxi meter scam, coal transportation scam, investment promotion board scam and many scams in the tiny state of Goa.”
Under the circumstances who takes the announcement of the Public Grievance Portal seriously? Clearly, it is a farce and nobody is hoodwinked. Everybody knows the truth, says the former GPCC chief who is known for his straight talking without mincing words.