TriGoa Duathlon to be organised in association with Indian Navy

MLAs stick to political side

As the debate over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and associated issues linked to the National Population Registry (NPR) and National Citizens Register (NRC) escalate and spill on to the streets both at the national level and here in Goa as well, reporters of The Goan took to getting legislators to put down their stands on record. The responses we got were on expected lines with most BJP legislators toeing the party line and backing the CAA-NPR-NRC legislation and processes. Yet, quite a few of them admitted, albeit off-the-record, that the government could have handled the issues better. A few others also dodged us. Like Waste Management Minister, Michael Lobo who otherwise is verbose on any topic under the sun, refused to open up. Ditto with GIDC Chairman and Aldona MLA Glenn Ticlo. Notably, minorities make up a significant chunk of the electorate in Calangute and Aldona constituencies, Lobo and Ticlo represent. Then, from the group of 10 former Congress MLAs who switched to the BJP in August last year, most also toed their party line. But some were fumbling for answers and took cover of the alibi that minorities in Goa will not be affected. Some like the Monserrate couple -- Jennifer and Atanasio (Babush) -- for instance, avoided making comment altogether. They did not respond to the queries sent to them through texts and also did not pick up multiple calls we made. Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar, steered clear of taking a firm stand but said he saw no problem for any of the minorities in Goa. He said only those who infiltrated India and are held up in border states will be affected by CAA. We simply asked all these politicians three questions: What is their understanding of the issues, which side (for or against) are they on and why are they on the side they chose. Read on to find out how the politicos avoid taking a stand, or painstakingly latch on to neutral ground so they sound politically correct, speak their mind strongly in favour or against CAA, mostly ruled by which side of the political divide they are on or simply stay silent and refuse to respond.