Christmas Comes Early to Panjim.
Never before in Goa the Municipal, Panchayat and Zilla election, been so very generous to the people. Yes, generosity during the Assembly and Parliamentary elections has always out done the gracious festive seasons. But today at every petty election generosity pours down in the form of cloud bursts and Babush Monserrate has been out doing all his contemporaries, not just by yards but by miles. So all of a sudden why have all the petty elections been hijacked by our elite politicos ?
Why have these petty elections become the most sought after ? The answer to these, is in the large funds at the disposal of these once miniscule bodies. The one who controls these once miniscule bodies controls the strong currents of funds diverted to these bodies and hence is in a position to dictate terms and conditions tilted in his or her favour. These petty bodies are now become very viable source of income for our corrupt politicians hence the abounding flow of generosity. If not, why on earth would our top political masters spend crores of rupees on elections to these petty bodies ?
By the way what is our election commission and the enforcement directorate doing about it ? The laxity of these two bodies is a worrying factor for the general public. Our corrupt politicians flaunt their disproportionate income in every which way they can and both the election commission and the enforcement directorate are watching with fingers stuck up their nostrils. With the divide between the rich and the poor ever widening, the people who are more than responsible for this divide, our corrupt politicians take full advantage of the abject poverty of the poor people and entice them with goodies and cash in exchange for votes. How long will this go no ?
For how long will money continue to dominate the substance in votes ? In a democracy performance and integrity should have been the defining factor of the out come of every election. Unfortunately our corrupt politicians have amassed so much wealth that buying votes will not even make a dent in their arithmetically calculated and accumulated khazana of wealth. Goa is a highly literate state but unfortunately literacy does not guarantee wisdom not does illiteracy guarantee idiocy in fact it is just the opposite in Goa.
Freddy Agnelo Fernandes
