Water Resources Minister Vinoda Paliencar was in the centre of a storm over the weekend for his comment “harami lok te” while referring to the people of Karnataka in general. Paliencar was trying to explain why he had taken his police security along during his visit to Kankumbi where the work on the river diversion was allegedly on.
His comment drew sharp reactions from beyond the border across party lines and has the potential to sully relationships between people across the border and even cause riots with not handled sensitively.
There are essentially two arguments to this -- one that supports Paliencar on grounds that he uttered the word on the spur of the moment and perhaps wasn’t able to express himself correctly and the other which states that Paliencar ought to have known better than shoot his mouth off in such a crude manner and an apology would be the best way out.
However, rather than own up, Paliencar sought to defend himself saying that “the so-called abusive words were misquoted & reported by Journalist without being present for the press conference.”
Despite Paliencar speaking in Konkani, a language we assume he is most fluent in, it is possible that Paliencar used a word on the spur of the moment and without applying much thought to it. If that is the case, it would only be wise for the minister to apologise if not for his sentiments at least for the words he has used to convey them.
There is no harm in owning up to language that is unbecoming of a minister in a bid to clear the air over what has happened.
But rather than that, and choosing to live in denial will in no way support his or the case of Goa at large. What only makes it worse is that this is clearly the third time that Paliencar has had to clarify statements he has made to the media, all of which, he undeniably made.
Instead of seeking to blame journalists who were only reporting what he actually said, Paliencar should realise that it is only he who can clear the air over the mess his own words have created.
On previous occasions, Paliencar used the words “political stunt” when referring to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s letter to B S Yeddyurappa only to later clarify that he meant political compulsion. On yet another occasion he went ahead and said that Goa should seek for an out of court settlement on the Mhadei issue which he had to clarify with a late night press conference and completely retract his statements.
The evidence suggests that Paliencar would do well to consult with his advisors before making such statements which only betray an immature streak. For his own sake, the sooner he hones his communication skills, the better.
