Goemkarponn Desk
Panaji: The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday took a delegation to visit the Honorable Governor of Goa to object to the misgovernance of the Sawant Sarkar. The Delegation was led by AAP Goa Convenor Rahul Mhambre. On top priority was the badly drafted and hurriedly passed Bhumiputra Adhikarni Bill. AAP Goa also shared with the governor the state of misgovernance in Goa caused by the Sawant Sarkar & highlighted issues faced by students, women and Mining dependents in the state.
AAP Goa highlighted to the Governor that, the important monsoon session which is usually held for 3-4 weeks was curtailed to just 3 days. In this short time a number of bills, including important legislation’s like Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill 2021, were pushed through in a hurried manner without any discussion or debate.
There was no discussion on many of the critical issues facing Goans, including unemployment and the economic crisis, mishandling of the Covid pandemic, deaths due to oxygen shortage, failure to protect Goa’s lifeline river Mhadei, failure to handle natural disasters such as floods and cyclone, and environmental issues such as the three linear projects, Coal Hub, and CZMP.
“The way the Bhumiputra Adhikarni bill was forced through the assembly is a murder of democracy” said Rahul Mhambre AAP Goa Convenor. “No conversation or consultation was done with stake holders. You curtailed the Assembly session by using Covid as an excuse, but you never thought of Covid when you took out a massive rally in Sanquelim? By passing a bill without any consultation you have murdered democracy” said Rahul Mhambre
The AAP Goa Convenor also highlighted to the Governor the fact that the last week Goa saw 3 rapes in the matter of 7 days. The party also highlighted that the Govt has not announced any aid to the victims nor made any reassurance for the same. Instead of reassuring women of Goa of their safety the CM instead was indulging in blaming the minor victims and their parents!
Aam Aadmi Party Appealed to the Honorable Governor remind the Chief Minister, who also happens to be the Home Minister, of his constitutional duty to provide safety and security to all, everywhere, and at all times. The party also requested his intervention to see that the Goa State Women’s Commission, which has become almost defunct for all practical purposes, is revitalised and empowered so that it performs all its functions as envisaged under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
On mining dependents Aam Aadmi Party highlighted that the mining belt held 3 lakh Goans who were dependent on the industry, that mining used to contribute to atleast 40% of the states economy and the setting up of the corporation should not be just a jumla. The party highlighted that AAP had proposed setting up of a state-run Corporation to resolve the imbroglio, however, successive Governments indulged in tenuous and lengthy legal battles in the Supreme Court. After the Supreme Court dismissed the last of the Goa Government’s review petitions recently, the Legislative Assembly has finally passed the Goa Mineral Development Corporation Bill, 2021, but not before imposing almost a decade of suffering on hapless families in the mining belt, a severe crunch in the state Government’s revenue generation, and an overall gloom in the state’s economy.
AAP requested the Governor to to grant speedy approval to this bill, and engage with the Chief Minister and the Cabinet to expedite the implementation of the state-run Corporation.
“Approximately 3 Lakh Goans are dependent on mining. Time and again the Govt has failed them. First in preventing illegalities, then in fixing the problem. Belatedly the Govt has announced the setting up of a Mining Corporation. However no timeline has been given for its setting up. This seems more like a a jumla before the election” said Mhambre
The Aam Aadmi Party also highlighted that the Students of Goa are unable to study, due to network problems that prevent them from attending online classes during the pandemic classes. Due to internet connectivity issues many students have to climb mountains or even study on the roads putting their lives at risk especially girl students. Yet the Govt has not provided them with any solution