Panaji: At a press conference held today, North Goa District —- Vijay Bhike strongly condemned CM Pramod Sawant for the blatant misuse and politicization of the police force against the citizens of Goa. He pointed out that the CM’s recent brainwave to use plain clothes police and traffic department personnel armed with smart phones to shoot photos of traffic violators is a clear evidence of the government’s menacing and anti people policies. Undercover operations are used against terrorists and dangerous criminals not against ordinary citizens. It is common knowledge that uniformed police stand by idly whilst traffic violations take place under their very noses. They only seem to spring into action when it is time to collect revenue and fill the coffers by extracting from helmetless 2 wheeler drivers. If the police force cannot inspire respect for their uniforms, and have to move around in mufti to slyly pick out traffic offences, then it raises serious questions regarding the training, motivation and morale of the police force and only underscores its inefficiency and incapability. Respect is earned and not commanded.
The recent spate of accidents involving trucks plunging into caved in sections of roads in Panaji, clearly exposes the culpability of the BJP government in turning our roads into dangerous death traps. Each day, we wake up to the news of more than 10 major accidents throughout Goa with at least 2 deaths resulting. Yet the CM who is also the Home Minister, buries his head in the sand and keeps up his constant refrain “Bhivpachi garaz na” while putting the entire blame on the driving community of Goa. He seems to be blind to the role of his inefficient and apparently untrained police force, his badly engineered roads, no proper signals and absolutely abysmal and uncaring traffic management and confusion that the drivers have to contend with. There seems to be absolutely no consideration or realization that those who lose their lives or suffer incapacitating injuries are bread earners and loved ones of their respective families.
Its time this government stops putting its entire focus on revenue collection, and gives some thought to the concerns and wellbeing of the people of Goa. At present, all that is seen is a government that is engrossed in revenue collection to finance its various events aimed at promoting the vested interests of its own leaders and allegedly fake Babas – not forgetting a favoured event management company that rakes in the total commission. The recent Baba Ramdev extravaganza is one such living example of the BJP government’s profligacy at the cost of the Goan taxpayer.
Enough of event management and propagating vested interests of favoured cronies. It is high time the BJP government put its energies into providing good governance that keeps the welfare and wellbeing of Goa’s people as its central objective.
