The High Court spoke the collective conscious of the people of Goa, and the government was finally forced to bow down and postpone the Zilla Panchayat elections. The government stood completely exposed on the pretense of a secured poll environment and lost a golden chance to take the high moral ground.
It is a pity that the government couldn’t stand its pitch of not detecting a single positive case, nor over the argument that the situation is under control. The will of the people of Goa has prevailed, and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who was steadfast in his resolve was made to eat a humble pie. The health concerns and well-being of ordinary citizens were being sacrificed at the altar of politics.
In situations like these, nothing should override the interest of the ordinary citizens, not even a constitutional obligation of holding elections before the expiry of term. The sole responsibility of any government should be the safety and concerns of its people. The entire issue has only laid bare the insensitivity of the government and the State Election Commission towards the people of the land.
We live in a cynical age of political interests and agendas where interests of the common man are trampled upon with disdain. It is an era where hypocrisy and theatrics are overshadowing the real need of the hour. The focus of the day has been on driving selfish political agendas, and everything else blurs out. We wouldn’t find an iota of sense in a two-day postponement of polls if there were any consideration for people’s safety and care. While all the pleas of people fell on deaf ears, it was amply clear that the two-day deferral was only to keep a date with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Janata Curfew’.
We can’t have insensitive leaders who have a single-minded agenda of power-driven politics. While the PM talks about staying indoors, sanitization and self-isolation, the government and the State Election Commission spoke firmly of elections. Caution was thrown to the wind, all advisories contradicted, and machinery was ruthlessly moving risking the lives of people. This doesn’t fit into a fair democracy which swears by the people.
BJP’s political goal may have appeared realistically close for the party, but leaders must realize that such ambitions can backfire. The State government must refocus on the Coronavirus, like the rest of the world. All the energies must be devoted to securing the lives of the people in every possible way. Goa continues to remain highly vulnerable against a Covid-19 attack because there are still no full-proof systems in place, and the government is engaging in piecemeal action. We don’t have a testing laboratory, even though the CM and the Health Minister belatedly promised one. Let’s not forget, in times of crisis China erected a hospital in ten days and in Goa, even as this piece is being written there are hordes of visitors entering the State unchecked.
The people of the State may have won against the establishment in getting the elections postponed, but the crack of distrust has only grown wider.
