By Aires Rodrigues
While reacting to her unopposed election from Cortalim Mrs. Alina Saldanha has in an interview with the local magazine “Goa Today” claimed that her unopposed victory had saved the State exchequer a lot of money and that this money would have been unnecessarily spent on conducting the Cortalim by-election.
This statement by the former Headmistress and now the Forest Minister is presumptuous while revealing her political naiveté and sheer ignorance of the basics of democracy and the Indian Constitutional framework. Her line of thinking that money was saved by not holding the elections is a matter of great concern as it runs contrary to the very fundamentals of electoral democracy.
Free, fair and transparent elections hold the key to a good functioning democracy. There is no substitute to a political process through elections conducted in a democratic manner. Making the democracy really representative, calls for strong institutions, headed by honest and knowledgeable people. It requires a leadership with vision and integrity, which has become a rarity in today’s political system.
The only way to improve democracy and politics is through a more effective and better political democracy in which Mrs. Alina Saldanha needs a lesson or two if not an intensive refresher course. How much it had cost the BJP to clear the Cortalim turf of other contestants and potential players only God knows. All we know was that the damage done to democracy was irreparable and unpardonable.
