SILENCE: There was not a word of protest from the 25,000-strong crowd who attended Amit Shah’s rally at Farmagudi on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Even Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on the dais had nothing to say about the gift of Mhadei river to Karnataka
By Rajan Narayan
It was under pressure from Amit Shah that the Goa government privately admitted to transferring Mhadei to Karnataka. Home Minister Amit Shah publically admitted his role in the transfer of Mhadei. Amit Shah sacrificed tiny Goa for the larger interest of Lok Sabha seats in the forthcoming election in Karnataka.
THE most dangerous and ruthless politician in Goa since Independence is Amit Shah. Amit Shah has no friends or enemies. His only objective is to ensure that the BJP is able to win the 1924 elections. His blatant announcement that he had decided to hand over the Mhadei river to Karnataka at the Farmagudi meeting on Sunday, April 16, 2023 is a statement of total arrogance. The Mhadei river doesn’t belong to him but to Goa. The late chief minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, must be weeping in his memorial at Miramar beach over the manner in which “raja” Amit Shah has gifted Mhadei to Karnataka.
Politicians have historically used the entire arsenal of dirty tricks to get elected, to get rivals defeated, to topple the government. They use and abuse money power and muscle power to achieve their goals. You don’t have to go too far away to this classic example in Goa itself. Manohar Parrikar bribed Babush Monserrate to ensure that the BJP forms the government. To his credit Atanasio Babush Monserrate was loyal enough to even get Congress MLAs to resign and join the BJP. There have been many instances of outright purchase of MLAs.
The belief and allegation is that each of the 12 Congress MLAs, including a former chief minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, defected to the BJP and got Rs100 crore prize money. When money power hasn’t work Amit Shah resorts to muscle power. Shah subscribs to only one principle: the principle of “by hook or by crook.” Over the last ten years Shah has purchased, stolen, bullied at least 100 MLAs to switch sides — including the 12 in Goa.
Amit Shah has calculated that there are 70 seats which are now held by Opposition parties, which the BJP has to win in the 1924 election. Among this 70 seats targeted by the BJP are the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa. The BJP is confident of winning the north Goa parliamentary seats. However, in the last election its candidate Narendra Sawaikar lost a seat to Francisco Sardinha of the Congress.
The primary aim of Amit Shah’s latest visit to Goa on Sunday, April 16 was to ensure that this time around the BJP will win the south Goa seat. Amit Shah believes in the probability theory. Karnataka is going to polls very soon in May. From the point of view of number of Member of Parliament (MP) seats, Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats. This is why we know he sacrificed the interests of Goa by handing over Mhadei river to Karnataka. But this is not mean that Amit Shah will give up the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa.
The BJP is already assured the north Goa parliament seat which has been represented by Minister of State for Tourism, Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India Shripad Naik for four terms. In contrast, the record of BJP in the south Goa’s polls has been dismal. In the light of reports of attack on Catholics and the anti-minority policy of the BJP it is unlikely that south Goa will vote for BJP.
We do not know what part Amit Shah played in the campaign to make Narendra Modi prime minister in 2014. Clearly they are old friends and Amit Shah was the home minister in Gujarat and reportedly responsible for the post-Godhra train incident attacks on Muslim families. Amit Shah can be ruthless – the judge who held him guilty in the Godhra killings was found murdered within ten days. The bulldozing of gangsters in Uttar Pradesh is primarily Amit Shah’s idea. It was Manohar Parrikar who was responsible for letting Narendra Modi of the hook in the post-Godhra communal savagery. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted to sack Modi as chief minister of Gujarat.
Subsequently, in 2002, Narendra Modi was keen on being projected as the prime minister of India. Many veteran BJP leaders like LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi, were opposed to this but is it is Manohar Parrikar who played a crucial part in promoting Narendra Modi as the prime minister.
Amit Shah is merciless. LK Advani was a most respected BJP leader who thanks to his Ram Janmabhoomi Yatra increased BJP seats to 86 seats in Parliament. This made the BJP a key element in the formation of a coalition government. In the subsequent elections the BJP succeeded in forming the first “saffron” government under the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Whose reputation is now in ruins courtesy the quality of the Atal Sethu Bridge.
We fail to understand what has happened to Goa and particularly Goan Catholics. Can you imagine Goans keeping quiet? Amit Shah openly and blatantly admitted that he was responsible for forcing the Goa BJP government to handover Mhadei river headwaters to Karnataka. Goans should not even permit Amit Shah to step into Goa. There should have been a complete naka-bandi as far as Amit Shah is concerned.