Wooing Minority Voters
THE Congress ticket aspirants for March 3 assembly elections along with their Rajya Sabha representative seem to have developed great love for minorities by raking up the attempt by the Parrikar government to cancel the Good Friday and St Francis Xavier feast holidays.
Do they think that people of Goa suffer from short-term memory loss of the fact that Mr Digambar Kamat, or for that matter Mr Ravi Naik, was part of that saffron squadron? Can the Congress government explain for its failure to establish a statutory Goa state commission for minorities for the last several years of its rule in Goa, which has been constituted long ago even in Maharashtra and West Bengal? There are several constitutional posts which could easily have been filled by minority candidates, but the Congress has shown an unexplained reluctance to do this. Please find us a reasonable issue to change the face of peaceful and green Goa rather than bring forth such trivial matters before the electorate.
RUI FERREIRA, Panaji
LPG Gas as Fuel for Cars
IT is understood that there are several cars on the road in the state which run on LPG gas as it is a cheaper option to petrol. It only requires a convertor to convert a petrol-run car in a car run on LPG gas. Many of these cars owners could be using LPG gas meant for domestic use for their four-wheelers. Carrying an LPG cylinder in the back of the car can prove to be very dangerous as there can be a cylinder blast in case the car meets with an accident. It seems necessary to make it mandatory to seek necessary permission from the authorities concerned whenever a car owner switches on to LPG as a fuel so that necessary precautions are taken. It should also be made mandatory for such cars to depict on the rear of the car that it (the car) is being run on LPG gas. The authorities also need to keep an eye on cars which run on LPG gas illegally.
ADELMO FERNANDES, Vasco
Ministers and Their Ill-gotten Wealth
MANY corrupt ministers defend charges against them claiming innocence. They also maintain that people targeting them have hidden agendas, and pass the buck to the others for their wrongdoings. My point is: do these ministers consider the citizens ignorant? How they amass wealth? And if they can’t prove sources of their wealth it must be construed that their wealth is ill-gotten. The corrupt ministers should be honoured with national and international awards for their rags-to-riches stories. Why the law does not catch up with the corrupt? India is not shining but infested with corruption, and Goa is one of the most corrupt states in India.
ARWIN MESQUITA, UAE
Shocking News about Yuvraj
INDIA’S World Cup man of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh, who has been diagnosed with the first stage cancer which is curable, is undergoing chemotherapy in the United States. This news is shocking to cricket lovers. Yuvraj entertained the cricket lovers with his great bowling, batting and fielding in the shorter formats of the game. And who will forget the six Sixers he hit against England’s Broad? Yuvraj is determined to fight off the disease as a true champion. I wish him fastest recovery like his batting runs, and pray that God will give him and his family strength to endure this.
BIDYUT KUMAR CHATTERJEE, Faridabad
Various Types of Voters
EVER since the elections were announced there seems to have been a concerted effort from various quarters -- political, religious, NGOs and even individuals -- trying to put forth their point on how to exercise the franchise diligently and elect candidates of integrity. All these tall talks fade in oblivion when we try and trace the mindset of the electorate. There is one class of people who are steadfastly aligned to a particular political party, irrespective of the performance of the party or the level of corruption it has been entangled in, be it at the state or the central level. Such is their level of allegiance that they just refuse to deviate from their adopted path, despite witnessing the wrongdoings of their much hyped party. It may be said of such people, The next category is the one that minutely observes the performance of the party and is ever willing to shift its stand, based on the functioning of the party. This group basically rides on the anti-incumbency wave – they seek a change for good. The next brand is what can be clubbed as the politicians’ vote bank. These people basically thrive in the slums. Over the years they have managed to get their ration cards, voting cards etc and even managed to get their illegal dwellings legalised, through the blessing of their political mentors, And to wind up there can be another type which cannot see beyond election freebies, cash or kind, that is distributed to them on the assurance of backing their candidate.
MICHAEL VAZ, MERCES
