Manohar Parrikar has perhaps been the best thing to happen to Goa, after Dayanand Bandodkar. Surprisingly, there have been many criticisms about his government, despite the good governance that Goa was blessed with during his regime. Here, I would like to put forward some of the most common allegations and criticisms about Manohar Parrikar. I would like to put forward our say over these issues.
Parrikar has saffronised every department of Goa’s administration.
But what secular deeds did this new government do when it came to power? There were prompt changes made to many significant government posts, sacking or transferring the officials for no reason, and appointing the posts with people from minority. Is this ‘secularism’? I would question the people who shout on top of the voice about secularism, just one question… Do they know the meaning of secularism? Secularism is giving equal status to all the religions, with no bias or favouritisms. But here the so called secular forces seem to be biased to the minorities and dump the majority religion. This is no way secularism. Secularism is not about doing injustice to the majority religions.
Parrikar unnecessarily backed extravagant schemes without tackling the urgent needs to improve the basic infrastructure.
How many chief ministers of the past implement innovative schemes like the Cyberage Scheme, the interest-free loan scheme and the Goa Scholar scheme for the students, and the DSSS scheme for the senior citizens? There are many more schemes worth a mention that benefited all the genres. And speaking of infrastructure, during his regime, Parrikar could successfully complete the Chopdem-Shivolim bridge, the Amona bridge, the Sanvordem bridge, and there were many more in the pipeline.
Moreover, I can recall the incident when I was doing my masters in Information Technology, the cyberage scheme was launched, and we felt that the post-graduate students should also be given the advantage of this scheme. Some of us went to the Chief Minister’s office to voice our opinion. Despite his busy schedule, he took his time to speak to us, and even promised us that our request would be taken into consideration. This was no false promise, as within only a week, we received a communication from the government that we have been included in the Cyberage scheme. Such was the charisma of this great leader.
The Chief Minister hurriedly dissolved the assembly in 2002, putting unnecessary financial burden on the state exchequer.
Weren’t the governments being toppled in the past? The era before Parrikar regime has faced worse situations with government toppling and elections called for, every year. Weren’t the finances in the state exchequer burdened at that time?
Parrikar has manipulated and muzzled the Goan press.
The press is too strong a media to be pressurized by a single personality, irrespective of his power. No person can rule the press, with the freedom of expression that it offers. It’s the public voice that is showcased in the press. And Parrikar was one humble man, that he insisted that no newspapers will feature any birthday wishes during his birthday. We have all witnessed the nuisance it creates now, when there’s a birthday of any cabinet minister, and five to six pages of the newspapers are only printed with enormous photos and birthday wishes.
The Sky-bus project is doomed to disaster as the volume of traffic is not adequate to sustain it.
I would like to correct here that sky-bus project was stopped because of the unfortunate accident that took place during the trial of the prototype. And mind you, the sky-bus project may well be doomed, but its implementation was actually started. Money was sanctioned from the centre, and the KRC was already working on the prototype, in Margao. But did the Mono-rail project promised by the subsequent government, ever see the day light? Why does the government fool the public with big dreams that never get transformed to reality? Why are these false promises overlooked and the efforts that failed, are laughed at? Accolades to Parrikar government for his efforts to start the sky-bus project in Goa.
Parrikar has only targeted his political opponents for corruption but allowed his party members to have a jolly good time.
Parrikar has vehemently offered zero-tolerance to corruption, and to say that he allowed his party members to have a jolly good time is a farce. The very drive against the corruption led to the debacle of his government, when he debarred the Town and Country Planning minister of his cabinet, on the grounds of corruption. Such was the zeal of Parrikar to combat corruption that he risked his own government for the cause.
Not many states are blessed with brilliant chief ministers like Manohar Parrikar. Goa, though a small state, the developments it has seen in the short while in Parrikar regime, has been praiseworthy. It has been 45 years since liberation, and we have witnessed how slow at a snail’s pace. He has cleared many myths people had about corruption being impossible to impede, that projects like bridges can’t be well completed within estimated time, that the government jobs are impossible to get without paying lumps of money. He had been able to be a tying string for his team of ministers, and his cabinet looked like a team with a purpose. It’s the ill fate of Goa that we have not been able to take the full advantage of this talented leader. Perhaps it is high time we change the attitude of magnifying the negative things and overlook the positive ones.
