Headlines
Goa minister slams CM, joins opposition-led special status chorus
By
Mayabhushan NagvenkarPanaji, June 3
Recent statements by BJP
president Amit Shah and Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar virtually
ruling out the possibility of special status for Goa, in order to
preserve the state's unique identity, have caused a political storm with
even a state minister protesting the decision.
While the
opposition has criticised the BJP-led governments in the state and the
centre for making a u-turn on the special status promise, a Goa minister
has now joined the chorus against her own chief minister.
Speaking
to IANS, Forest and Environment Minister Alina Saldanha said that
Parsekar's comments describing the possibility of special status for Goa
as a "mirage" were personal and that the latter was not "as
well-versed" with the issue as his predecessor Manohar Parrikar, who is
now the defence minister.
"Honourable chief minister is not as
well versed with the issue as then chief minister Manohar Parrikar. He
(Parrikar) knew the issue inside out," Saldanha said.
While Shah,
during his two-day visit to Goa last week, had indicated that he was
not in favour of taking an immediate decision on Goa's special status
issue and that the demand would be bunched along with similar demands
from other states, Parsekar on Sunday had virtually ruled out the demand
saying demanding special status was equivalent to chasing a "mirage".
The
dissent by Saldanha, the only woman member of the Bharatiya Janata
Party-led coalition government in Goa, caps a steady stream of critique
by opposition and civil society groups which have accused the party of
reneging on its pre-poll promise of granting special status to Goa both
during the 2012 state assembly elections and the 2014 Lok Sabha
elections.
The Goa legislative assembly had also passed a unanimous resolution demanding special status from the union government in 2013.
"The
chief minister should remember that he was a signatory to resolution.
He was the state health minister at the time. Did he think it was a
mirage then too?" asks Prajal Sakhardande, president of NGO Goa Movement
for Special Status, of which Saldanha is a part.
For the last
few years, the demand for special status for Goa has been doing the
rounds in the political and social circles in the state, which has been
facing challenges stemming from rapid in-migration, shrinking land
resources and a resultant dilution of identity.
In 2014,
Sakhardande had headed a delegation which met Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, when the latter was campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections
and submitted a memorandum citing reasons for granting Goa special
status.
"At that time, Modiji praised us for demanding special
status to protect our identity and culture and not for a financial
package. But now suddenly, their (BJP) attitude has changed," he said.
Saldanha,
who has been facing flak from her own supporters for being unable to
deliver the promise despite being a minister, now insists that Goa's
demography could change forever if special status, which bars non-Goans
from buying land in Goa, is not bestowed on the state.
"When are
we going to wake up? Goa's unique identity is in the process of being
wiped out," she said, adding that real estate lobbies in India metros
who were keen on selling land and apartments on premium in Goa were
stalling the process.
The opposition has already slammed the BJP
volte face, with former union minister of state for law Ramakant Khalap
claiming that as far as the BJP goes, "this is the end of the road as
far as special status is concerned".
Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson
Oscar Rebello said that regarding special status, "the BJP leaders only
choose to make vague statements about safeguarding cultural identity
while ignoring the real issue that is about land".
Currently 12
Indian states enjoy special status, which include Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim, Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and some 12 districts of
Karnataka.
(Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted at [email protected])