 "Shantaram Naik")
Congress Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik tells Amit Agnihotri about the prospects of his party making a comeback in the Goa Assembly polls next year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) track record and the issues plaguing the state
Goa will go to the Assembly polls in 2017. How well is the Congress prepared to make a comeback?
Well, we are ready. The Congress might have been defeated in the last Assembly elections (2012) but we can claim our party has done a lot for the state. Jawaharlal Nehru liberated Goa from 450 years of Portuguese rule, while Indira Gandhi gave the Goa Opinion Poll, held for the first time in the country in 1967 under the Goa, Daman and Diu (Opinion Poll) Act, 1966. The law gave people of Goa an option to choose between the merger of Goa with Maharashtra or being a Union Territory. The Congress made Konkani the official language of Goa.
The contest here has been close in the past as Assembly constituencies are very small, with 20,000 as the average number of voters. Winning margins are also quite small. Hence 1,000 votes either way can decide the fate of a candidate.
What is your view of the rift within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Goa? Does that sound like an opportunity?
The RSS rift is an aberration; no political force declares in advance that it will cease to exist after the Assembly elections. Therefore, politically, although RSS forces drifting away from the BJP is an advantage for the Congress, I do not advise relying on such developments. I would prefer that my party relies on its own strength and record of work done, including its achievements during the term of the Digambar Kamat government.
But the Kamat government was hit by the infamous mining scandal....
Well, I would like to remind people that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was then Leader of the Opposition in the Goa Assembly, made a hue and cry alleging that Congress ministers and Assembly members were indulging in illegal mining. The BJP succeeded in defeating the Congress based on these false charges but after Parrikar became chief minister, he said no member of the new Assembly or the previous one was involved in illegal mining.
Is the RSS rift in Goa permanent or could there be a patch-up?
According to the breakaway RSS group, their entire effort is going to last only till the next Assembly elections. So let's wait and watch.
What issues are you are raising against the BJP government?
The issues are countless. However, we will highlight in our manifesto, a few key ones such as the failure of the BJP to get special provisions for Goa under Article 371 of the Constitution (popularly called Special Status), failure to solve mining-related issues, failure to take casinos out of the Mandovi river, failure to control the drug menace, chaos over medium of instruction policy, failure to attract investment and creation of the Investment Board solely for generating funds for the party and its leaders.
Further, there is deliberate mischief to deprive minorities of their voting rights by not amending the Citizenship Act to protect those who registered their births in Portugal under a law enacted by the Portuguese government.
Do you plan to label the BJP an anti-poor party?
There is no need for that. The BJP is known to be anti-poor and pro-rich. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies are aimed at protecting some rich industrialists. He gave land to an industrial house at throwaway prices in Gujarat. And in the next few years this group is going to capture the Mormugao Port Trust.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been making plans to expand the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa. What do you make of his efforts?
The AAP projected itself as a clean party. But it is the dirtiest political outfit in the country at present. Electoral victory is not necessarily the only criterion by which to judge a political party. The party has crossed all limits of maladministration and Kejriwal is the best example of an irresponsible administrator.
Before you target others, the Goa Congress needs to set its house in order. What is your take on the infighting?
Show me one party where there are no quarrels. They differ in degrees. In the BJP, when Parrikar was ruling Goa there were no quarrels but, as is well known, he functioned like a dictator. So much so that even after he ceased to be CM of Goa, ministers used to wait to meet him with files of their departments to seek the nod of their former boss.
The Congress has objected to the recent notification of the state government amending the Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act. Why?
The Goa government seeks to amend the Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act to transfer the jurisdiction to decide tenancy cases from taluka mamlatdars, deputy collectors to civil courts. In the civil courts, judges overlook the interest of farmers and refuse to provide them time to file their written statements or documents according to the strict provisions of the Civil Procedure Code. Revenue courts like the mamlatdar courts deal with social legislations with a human approach. Besides, in civil courts if a party appears without the aid of lawyers, it will prove disastrous.
How will the demand for Special Status help Goa?
The concept of Special Status is a misnomer. The Constitution does not mention Special Status anywhere. What Goa is demanding is special provisions under Article 371 of the Constitution, which is popularly called Special Status. If an amendment to Article 371 is made, it will authorise the Goa Assembly to enact a legislation to control sale of land and enact provisions for other related matters, as may be authored by the Constitution Amendment. However, Parrikar has said Goa should forget about Special Status. This is a clear U-turn.
You have raised the issue of foreigners overstaying in Goa illegally. How should the issue be tackled?
This is not difficult at all. The police have all the records of foreigners who overstay. This needs to be tackled.
And what about the issue of drug menace in Goa that you raised in Parliament?
Drug menace has been there in Goa for years now. A tourist state with the influx of thousands of foreign tourists is one aspect that becomes an aggravating factor in the drugs trade. Police machinery, undoubtedly, is doing its job but those who get caught in the illegal trade of drugs, do make an attempt to bribe the police and some have succeeded in that. However, it is the duty of all sections of society to be vigilant.
In Parliament, you are often vocal against BJP leaders, especially PM Modi....
Modi's electoral success is like the success achieved by a marketing manager. He is a good salesman. He can fool the Indian electorate and he has proved that. He has succeeded in fooling even the Indian communities based abroad.
