Shaming the Nation

By Vinayak Naik

Befitting its appellation, the website Tehelka.com has been at it again - generating a sensation and excitement of mammoth proportion. Its daring disclosure of the shady 'defence deals' Bangaru Laxman and company have been alledgedly involved in has not only tarred the image of the ruling coalition at the Centre but has shocked, shamed and shaken the entire nation. Compared to this, Tehelka's earlier revelation regarding 'cricket match fixing', for sure, pales into insignificance.

In the wake of the mortifying exposé, any government having even a modicum of shame and morality would have voluntarily called it quits. But the seemingly insensate government at the Centre, far from doing it, appears to be in no mood to even consider quitting. It's so very obvious that it wants to hang on to power as long as it possibly can. What a shame!

Mark you, what has been brought to light by Tehelka isn't something trivial like a parking offence, but a colossal scandal pertaining to the all-important national defence. How can one, in all honesty, repose trust and confidence in a government that embodies elements who don't seem to give a damn to national defence? The government's dogged determination to continue in office during the course of the 'defence deals' investigation is strikingly invidious. At this rate every alleged criminal could be justified in not letting himself be arrested till he is convicted. Give it a thought! I think, there can be no two ways about it, the government must quit to permit a perfect probe into the 'arms scam'.
In respect of morality, nay immorality, what's true of the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre is even more true of its offshoot, the BJP government in Goa. You'll recall how by overtly casting aside ethics, the State BJP had seized power a shade over five months ago. And a la its parent party in Delhi, it has been leechlike latching on to it ever since.

With the sole exception of the marginally won Canacona seat by the then Congress candidate Sanjay Bandekar, ten out of the eleven additional seats which the BJP appropriated, rather, misappropriated after the '99 Assembly elections, were the ones in which its candidates had been well and truly worsted. A classic case is that of Tourism Minister Filip Neri Rodrigues, who had polled well over 60 per cent of the votes in Velim to fashion a resounding victory for the Congress in that constituency. Ironically, the Velim seat is now in the safe custody of the BJP, whose candidate, incidentally, had secured a little over 400 votes - a paltry percentage of just about 4. How can any right thinking and upright citizen ever come to terms with a chicanery (or skulduggery, if you like) like that?

The State BJP government has forfeited the right to stay in power on another count - the ever worsening law and order situation in Goa. One of the cardinal reasons for BJP's sundering from the Sardinha-led coalition, we were told, was Sardinha's failure to maintain a proper law and order in the State. Right now, viewed dispassionately, I feel, the law and order situation in Goa could not have been worse. Two major cases of house-breaking and looting in a space of three days in Goa's two major cities (Vasco and Margao) last month, is a telling commentary on how inefficiently the State's law and order enforcing machinery is functioning. Since most of such criminal incidents take place nocturnally, Goans, especially the urbanites, have begun to look upon the descent of every night with a certain amount of trepidation. No jokes, the danger of Goans, en masse, turning nyctophobic, is for real.

By the way, what does one make of the State budget? Well, the government claims it's common man friendly. Maybe, theoretically it is, but practically it can't be so. Affluent-friendly it certainly is, since taxes or no taxes, the rich man isn't going to be affected anyway.

The imposition of a tax on kerosene, petrol, diesel, cable TV and cyber cafes in the State budget has made the common man fidget. It is bound to enlarge the hole already burnt into his pocket by the preceding Union budget. In sum, Goa's Mr Common Man has once again had to go through his common experience of being badly bitten first by the Scylla of the Central budget only to be followed by a similar painful bite by the Charybdis of the State budget.

With the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Pratapsingh Rane, right now being avowedly more puissant that the CM because of the extraordinary power he wields to adjudicate on the pending disqualification petitions, it was hardly surprising to see, some of the BJP MLAs in particular, trying to outdo one another in lauding Rane on his completion of 30 years in the House. That it was an unabashed exercise in flattery was all too apparent. After all, how can one forget BJP's collaboration with Dr Willy and company in toppling the Rane government a shade over two and half years ago? Why suddenly this change of heart? For survival, of course. As simple as that.

Finally, a word about our cover story. It's on the ever so famous Feni. For certain, Feni is the Goans' brew that cheers - a four-letter word they take pride in mouthing. Besides being a formidable drink, it's known to be an infallibly efficacious remedy for many a malady. Interestingly, Feni seems to be having a strong connection with the granny. In fact, lots of Goans would vouch for the fact that their 'initiation into Feni' was through their granny, for therapeutic purpose though, ace cartoonist Mario Miranda counting among them.

Incidentally, even if it means letting out a personal secret, I must admit to being a pucca teetotaller over the last 31 years, the last drop of alcohol having gone into my system when I was in mid teens. That was to celebrate (at home, of course) Pataudi-led Indian cricket team's triumph at Delhi in the third Test against Bill Lawry's Aussies in the 1969-70 series. I wonder whether I ought to have done it afresh to hail the recent Test series success of Ganguly's India against Waugh's Australia!