Goa pradesh Congress committee president Luizinho Faleiro assures to restart mining activities and make Goa a ‘no casino’ land if his party comes to power after 2017 assembly elections. In his first extensive interview with ‘The Navhind Times’ staff reporter Shoaib Shaikh, Faleiro expresses confidence of a victory in 2017 shooting back at the dissenting voices within the Congress
Q: The Congress party looks to be in disarray as the assembly elections are approaching. What is your response?
The Congress is strong and stable though some leaders have their personal agenda and games to play. However, party workers are strongly rallying behind the Congress leadership and are working hard towards its success.
Q: How do you plan to respond to the growing voices from within the party who wish to throw their claims for leadership?
There are some senior Congress leaders like the cunning cuckoo who waits to lay its eggs till somebody builds the nest. What had stopped them from working for the party for the last nine and half years? I was virtually forced to return from Delhi and take over the last one and half year back. I don’t have any personal agenda but the party agenda. My priority is to build new leadership in the Congress. We have a lot of young leaders but the big question is: whether the people of Goa are ready to support and bless the new faces? Don’t look at the money of the old faces but look at the leadership of young faces. You need a movement to change this perception in Goa. The Congress is not just an organisation but a movement with a glorious history of contributions to the state and the nation.
Q: You had been very aggressive and vocal during your previous tenure as GPCC president. What has made you become good-humoured?
I feel I’m blessed for having born in Goa and work and serve the people of Goa, and blessed to serve the party at the national level. Having come back I feel I should maintain the decorum and dignity to this office. And therefore I cannot be the same aggressive Luizinho Faleiro which was there in 1980s. My role in Goa is to bring everybody together, particular the young people into the Congress. When I had come I had said that I do not have a magic wand but a ‘magic formula’. And the formula is unity, discipline, consolidation and strengthening of the Congress party. And today we have got the organisation in place. When I took over there were no blocks, booth committees and frontal organisation. So we are on the level-playing field to fight the elections.
Q: How firm are you on fielding new faces for 2017 assembly elections?
Goa is young and 65 per cent of Goa’s population is below the age of 35 years and therefore I had earlier said 50 per cent but now I feel obviously at least 65 per cent of young faces must take over the Congress party. My agenda is not personal agenda, but to build young leadership, nurture, promote, project and protect young leaders.
Q: In the 2012 assembly elections, the Congress received a major setback due to corruption charges, and mining scam was at the core. Will the Congress focus on restarting mining?
There is a saying – don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Of course, mining should be sustainable and the Congress had not trampled upon people’s livelihood. The financial state of Goa has been in a total disarray owing to the ban on mining, and nearly one lakh people directly or indirectly involved in mining are on the roads. We must ensure that there is sustainable mining so that all those people who lost their livelihood are brought back on gainful employment.
Q: What do you mean by sustainable mining?
Definitely mining has to restart because it had been the backbone of Goa’s economy right from the Portuguese times, and therefore there is no point in stopping the mining. When the Congress comes to power we will ensure that not only mining activities restart but restart as per the norms so that we have sustainable mining taking into consideration the people’s livelihood, the laws of the land and the future growth of Goa.
Q: The Congress has been targeted for bringing casinos. But you have said ‘no’ to casinos. How firm is your party on this decision?
For me, throwing out the casinos from the state of Goa is not just a political decision but it is born out of my personal conviction. Obviously the Congress cannot take high moral grounds on casinos because the Congress is also party to bring the casinos along with the BJP, the MGP and all the major parties because they are involved as coalition partners in promoting casinos in Goa. It was a wrong decision then, but today I feel casinos, drugs, narcotics, prostitution, crime and associated vices are raising their ugly head in the state of Goa. It is a scourge on young people of the state. It is making Goa a vices capital and sin city of India and therefore it should be nipped in the bud.
Q: How would you solve the issue of dual citizenship?
One fact needs to be understood: why Goans, and especially the youth, want to leave Goa and go abroad? We as leaders have miserably failed in giving them hope of getting employment and self-employment in the state of Goa so that they can provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. Secondly, historically those who were registered in the registry are deemed to be Portuguese citizens as per their law. These innocent people did not know the repercussions and therefore they should not be penalised. If people of Pondicherry could get dual citizenship then why should not Goans get the same? The BJP-led state as well central governments are only doing lip service, while they have majority in both the governments they can bring in a necessary legislation to provide dual citizenship to Goans whose names are registered in the Portuguese registry.
Q: What is the Goa model that you are trying to create?
The people of Goa were given lofty dreams of parivartan through jan sampark abhiyan. What we have seen in the last four and half years is a saga of betrayal and corruption, a parivartan of U-turns, and therefore I said we don’t want the Gujarat or Delhi model but we want Goa model, which will be Goa-centric. We want a model which will be done in consultation and participation of Goans. The Congress after presenting the failure report of the BJP government will come out with a vision document and a manifesto after consultation with the people, which I will monitor personally.
Q: Speculations are rife that Luizinho Faleiro will contest the 2017 assembly elections. Is it true?
I had the opportunity to serve the party at the national level. My agenda is not a personal agenda, my agenda is a party agenda to promote new faces, young people and get new leadership and keep everybody, the old and the new together.
Q: How ready is the Congress for the battle of 2017 elections?
I must very humbly and responsibly say the Congress has strengthened and consolidated its position in the last one and half year. We are on a level-playing field to fight any forces in Goa and we will be victorious with our mission and vision.