UGDP opposes beach & school
privatisation
Sandesh Prabhudesai
5 June 2002
Demanding a common minimum programme for
the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition, the United Goans
Democratic Party has expressed reservations over the BJP
government's crucial policy decisions like beach or school
privatisation.
Both the UGDP ministers, the third legislator
who has remained out of power and the party leaders today
submitted a 16-point programme to chief minister Manohar
Parrikar, to be inserted in the common minimum programme.
Addressing a press conference later, UGDP
senior vice president Radharao Gracias also said they had
demanded a co-ordination committee of all the three parties
- the BJP, the UGDP and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party
- to run the coalition.
All the three coalition partners are expected
to sit and finalise the modalities in this regard after
the three-day Assembly session, beginning from 12 June.
Gracias however asserted that the UGDP
will continue supporting the coalition, to keep the Congress
away from power, while they do not mind keeping aside certain
issues where there is a clash.
The major issue among it is the erstwhile
BJP government's controversial decision to close down around
50 government primary schools and then handing over its
buildings to RSS-sponsored private organisations to run
private schools.
The UGDP has demanded to revert the schools
back to the government and re-tender it in an open and transparent
manner, if necessary.
The UGDP has also demanded that no common
and natural heritage like the beaches, forest cover, lake
or waterfall be privatised. The erstwhile BJP government's
decision to hand over management of Miramar beach in Panaji
had come under fire and the state had to then scrap it as
suggested by the one-man commission, after public hearing.
While Parrikar's BJP government had also
come under criticism for favouring the majority community
in crucial recruitment in the police and revenue sectors,
the UGDP has demanded equal representation to all the communities,
on merit.
Referring indirectly to Goa's historical
language controversy, the UGDP has demanded to maintain
the status quo, which states that Konkani is the sole official
language of the state while Marathi is used only for the
official purposes. The BJP is still of the view that Marathi
be granted equal status.
Unlike the decision of the erstwhile coalition
government of the BJP and the Congress splinter group formed
in 2000, the UGDP has demanded total ban on fishing from
10 June to 15 August. The mechanised fishing boat lobby
had opposed it earlier.
Other major demands made by the UGDP are
80 per cent jobs to locals in all categories of industries,
no licence to polluting industries, declaring agriculture
as the industry, increasing BPL level proportionate to Goa's
cost of living and upgrading existing Dabolim air port to
international standards.
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