WILL IT THIS TIME BE A BJP ATTACK?

 By Aires Rodrigues.

 Fighting corruption and battling injustice is no easy task. One often faces a backlash by way of crank calls, vicious anonymous letters and,more seriously, the risk of an attempt on one’s life. Over the  last four decades I have seen and endured it all. The 13th October 2008 brutal attack at Ashok Restaurant was the worst so far, but I had a miraculous escape. My time may have not have been up then. During the Congress rule I was branded as a BJP agent, the BJP may now feel that I am a Congress man.

In the last over 100 days the Manohar Parrikar government has taken a whole lot of wrong decisions and reneged on many of the promises made. And speaking out against all this is an imperative of civic conscience. My friends now keep cautioning me to be extra careful. They fear and anticipate, I may be harmed. They keep reminding me that the current government has a record of being vindictive and ruthless. However,whatever the risk one has to take this government cannot be allowed to function in the manner and on the path it is threading.

Over the years nobody has been able to intimidate me. I have never been cowed down by any threats or consequences that I have had to facefor speaking out fearlessly. Individuals come and go but the battle against Corruption and injustice can never be put aside. It is comforting that today a lot of youth, even in the rural areas, are conscious and alive to their duty to preserve social order. So this battle is here to stay and will go on with many more joining in. I have never hesitated to take on the powerful and mighty over a widerange of issues. I have never shied away from pursuing a whole host of issues involving senior politicians and well-connected bureaucrats.Even that October 13th, 2008 attempt on my life did not slow or cow medown.

I have had nothing personal against anyone while raising and fightingi ssues concerning public good. My highlighting an issue is bound tohurt some individuals. Have I hurt one too many? One has to have thespine to speak out against things that are wrong. I will relentlesslycontinue to high light any injustice that I see. Nothing shall determe, my commitment and determination in this regard. The risk of having to lay down one’s life is a very small price that one may have to payin the bigger struggle against corruption and injustice. With theOpposition parties having withdrawn to their cages, the role ofordinary citizens in acting as watch dogs to sniff out, check and highlight the misdeeds of this government becomes all the morecrucial.

Looking back over the last four decades, I do not regret having taken up any of the issues that I did. At times one pays a heavy price and fighting public causes does take a toll on your personal and family life. It’s been a long battle which I will carry till my very last. Many have advised me to at least carry a revolver for self defence. I feel more secure and protected with a 10 rupee court fee stamp in mypocket and the mantra of ‘Satyameva Jayate’ on my lips. That is allyou need to file an application under the Right to Information Act. Tounravel corruption, nepotism, injustice and fight against it. This isa battle that needs to be waged and must just go on.

WHERE IS THE LOKAYUKTA?

WHERE IS THE LOKAYUKTA?



By Aires Rodrigues

It was Mr. Manohar Parrikar’s election promise that the much needed Lokayukta would be functional in 100 days. Instead of fulfilling this one very important promise the Chief Minister as predicted by many has been focused on safronising the administration on a priority.

As per the Goa Lokayukta Act, the Lokayukta would be empowered to investigate all complaints of corruption and mal-administration too. The people of Goa did hope that this government would be different. But under the new regime, the only Parviratan is that the brokers and beneficiaries of corruption and nepotism have changed with Chief Minister Parrikar standing exposed of his double standards on his so called mantra of zero tolerance to Corruption.

While the Lokayukta should be speedily appointed, Chief Minister Parrikar should stay way from the process of selecting the Goa Lokayukta. It would be appropriate that the selection be done by the Goa Governor in consultation with the Bombay High Court. The Goa Lokayukta needs be a person of caliber, character, moral strength and conviction to remedy the rampant corruption and maladministration that Goa continues to find itself enveloped in. The setting up of the Goa Lokayukta should not be intentionally delayed.

It should also be the Goa Lokayukta itself that should screen and select the entire team of officers and staff that will work under him, so as to prevent persons with political connections from infiltrating into the Lokayukta machinery, which ought to be of impeccable integrity and extra-ordinary ability.

The Government has rightly decided to have the seat of the Goa Lokayukta at Ribandar which was earlier known as “Rai bandar”, the port where kings and rulers use to dock in splendour. Significantly today’s rulers both present and past will now be made to stand at Ribandar in the dock and be tried for their dark deeds by the Lokayukta.

Politicians have to be taken to task and penalized for all their misdeeds and Manohar Parrikar in the last four months in office has committed many. A fully documented complaint will be filed against the Chief Minister on the very day the Lokayukta is inaugurated

ARE RONALDO & MESSI REALLY THE BEST??

Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal are dubbed as two best football players in the world currently; both are playing in Spain, Messi for Barcelona and Ronaldo for Real Madrid. Both are doing extremely well for their respective clubs but when playing for their nations both perform much lower than the spectators expectations. Messi and Ronaldo are hailed in Spain and elsewhere in the world as the two best footballers of the world when they are playing for their clubs. Since this is the opinion of the world on these two players why both of them cannot perform for their nations the performance of their clubs? People feel that they are purposely not exerting all their efforts when playing for their nations because their nations are not paying them what their clubs are paying them.

According to me Messi and Ronaldo are players of club level where they both are like one eyed men among the blinds and as such they cannot rise to the occasions. It is not that they are purposely underperforming when they play for their nations but while playing for their nations their moves and play are checked and controlled by the top opponents and defenders of which type they do not encounter when they play at club level. World Cup, Euro Cup and Copa America are top tournaments where every player participating in these tournaments is playing for his national team. For these tournaments only the best players from the participating nations are selected. The level of game while playing for one’s national team is much higher than that of the club level. Every player of national level representing his nation is the best while at club level it is not so. Every player of Barcelona and Real Madrid is not a national player but every player of Spain is the representative of his top club.

In the recently concluded Euro Cup 2012 Ronaldo in the Portuguese national team was a big flop in the first two qualifying matches but later on he gained a little momentum but never to equate him with the best in the world. Lionel Messi in the last World Cup in South Africa while representing his national team Argentina never reached to his expected zenith and he also failed to come to the expected level turning a flop too.

The best players in the world play best soccer anywhere in the world and at any level, whether club level or national level. A best player is the one who always perform best of soccer in any condition. A really best player is capable of winning the match single handedly with his singular performance and solo efforts.

70 Years back Argentinian Alfredo Di Stefano and Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, 50 years back Portuguese Eusebio and Brazilian Pele, 40 years back West German Franz Backeneur and Gerd Mueller, 30 years back West German Karl Heinz Rumenige, Italian Paulo Rossi, Argentinian Diego Armando Maradona and 10 years back French Zidane according to my assessment were really world best and they could single handedly win their matches against top teams. While on the field they were not only playing their game but also making their colleagues to play as well by distributing and feeding the ball clearly and cleverly to them.

Currently Ronaldo and Messi are both very good players no doubt but they only play their game and have to be played by others, they both do not make others play as the above mentioned players did during their hey days. In the absence of stiff competition and also in the absence of highly talented and skilful players in the world now both Ronaldo and Messi are creating ripples. Otherwise neither of them is nearer to the above named oldies. In view of this, people should not expect from them stars from the sky, they have their own capacity and accordingly they perform. Currently what they display is all what they can.

Finally let me tell to all those soccer experts who equate both Ronaldo and Messi to the great Pele and Maradona to just shut their mouth.  Pele and Maradona are incomparable to any of the best before and after them, they are both unique, they both are a gift of God to the football world.  Between the two, Pele stands taller than Maradona.  And between Ronaldo and Messi, the former  stands higher than the latter especially in the air and sprinting with the ball.

A. Veronica Fernandes,

Kuwait.