Had second thoughts about Kejriwal: AAP's Goa candidate Dattaram Desai

The Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate for North Goa, Dr Dattaram Desai, is a grassroots worker who has played an active role in perhaps the biggest agitation Goa has seen post its liberation. Since then, he has been a part of various organisations while also finding the time to attend to his patients in Savoi-Verem, a village in the north eastern hinterlands of Goa away from its balmy beaches. Firstpost spoke to Dr Desai at length about what got him into politics, his views on social issues in the state and what his priorities for Goa will be, if elected to Parliament. You have been an activist for almost thirty years, from working with RTI forums, setting up Self Help Groups and heading a branch of the Indian Medical Association, what got you to take the political plunge? In the last two years, the state of politics in India has got me concerned. When Anna Hazare began his movement, I joined it and noticed that politicians would keep avoiding democratic tools such as the Lokpal that help strengthen our democracy. [caption id=“attachment_1472451” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Dr Dessai during a campaign event in his constituency.[/caption] When I realised they were reluctant to pass even the Lokpal bill, if not Anna’s Jan lokpal, accept the SC order on tainted MPs it led me to decide that something is terribly wrong. It was at this time, that AAP entered as a common man’s party, I was impressed by their movement in Delhi and when their Goa branch opened, I supported them but didn’t become a member. It was only in January this year that I decided to join AAP and to my surprise, as soon as I did, National Executive member Dinesh Waghela said I should be their party’s candidate, that’s how I entered politics. But the government has now passed a Lokpal bill, its effectiveness could be debated, but the bill has been passed. Yes. It has happened only because of pressure groups formed by the people through organizations such as IAC and now AAP. They have built a pressure group against the government. Bills such as the citizen charter, lokpal, which has now been passed, these are all effects of people power. Tell us about your involvement in the Nylon 6,6 agitation against Thapar-DuPont in the mid 1990s. There are reports that you were abused by Goa Police? Yes, that’s true. Villagers from the area had objected to the industrial project but Thapar-DuPont was adamant to build it there. To prevent any construction work, both the roads to the plant were dug by people but the police could not hold anyone accountable/ They then took me and two others to the Farmagudi police outpost. The then SP, SP Gautam illegally confined us in three different cells and each of us were separately taken to a room, blindfolded, stripped and beaten with a belt. We were then kept in a cell for the entire day and later taken to the site where the trenches were dug and were forced to fill it. Passersby were told “look, your doctor is doing labour work for you because you’ll have dug trenches,” it was some sort of mocking intimidation. Soon hundreds gathered outside the police station and forced our release. In 2007, Goa had a strong apolitical movement called the Goa Bachao Abhiyan. With state elections soon due then, there was a call for the organization to turn political and contest. Do you think things would be different today had they contested? Yes, as an activist, I think it was the right time for GBA to at least have entered state elections if not at the national level. Perhaps they should have joined then. AAP is a soon-to-be national party, Goa already has a strong Congress and BJP presence but the mood in the state is regional. What makes you confident that the people will accept your party? Even though it is a national party, as far as our manifesto is concerned, we take into consideration local issues. There is no high command in the party. All others have their high command in Delhi, but for us, our high command is the people of Goa. We fight as a separate unit in Goa. Of course we do approach them for legal help and feedback. But their decision is not binding on us. Pre-poll surveys conducted by various research agencies have indicated that AAP is losing popularity. Kejriwal resigned as CM within 49 days saying he needs to be in Parliament to get things done. Are you in for the long haul? Or will you quit if things aren’t working out they way you want them to? No, I will continue fighting if elected as an MP, I won’t leave things halfway, unless if people tell me to step down as I’m not capable of representing them. If that’s the case, then I will have to think about it. I am an activist and I will continue my work. As you said, you joined AAP perhaps soon after Kejriwal quit as CM. Did you, for a moment, have doubts about Kejriwal’s capabilities as a leader? Yes, for a fraction of time I did have second thoughts, I was in two minds. But as I learned about what all his government did in 49 days and why he had to resign I thought it was his decision that he wanted to resign. But if I were in his place I don’t know if I would resign or do something else. But yes I agree I was in two minds at that time. You are contesting against BJP’s Shripad Naik. He has won two consecutive terms. The other contestant is a seasoned politician of the Congress Ravi Naik. Some say you are eating into BJP votes as you have admitted to having been a supporter of that party earlier, and will therefore give Congress a win. No, I don’t think we will eat into any party’s votes as we are going to win. We are going to damage both the parties. There is an under-current, people are frustrated with the politics of national parties. They may not openly come out, but they believe that these politicians must be taught a lesson. We have an increasing number of volunteers joining us every day. There is no question of me eating into other party votes. Among the burning issues in Goa today is the SC ban on mining. You are an activist and many view activists as opposed to development. In fact one of your campaigners Claude Alvares is a party to the case against illegal mining in the state. Considering a strong part of your electorate is employed in the industry, don’t you think it will affect your chances? It will not cause a problem for us. On the contrary, Claude Alvares has already given an alternate solution to the SC. Secondly, Alvares was not responsible for banning mining in Goa. He went to court because illegal mining was not being controlled. In a way, he has helped the government recover revenue that was being lost by fly-by-night mining operators and the mafia. The alternative solution proposed by Alvares is being explained to the people affected by the ban. In fact, the president of the All Goa Truck Owners Association, Nilkanth Gauns, is a member of AAP Goa. He is campaigning for us. People are of the opinion that if AAP comes to power they will have a solution for those affected by the ban. People are not showing any objection towards us. Your party has also made clear its opposition to casinos operating in Goa. Is that a moral decision? Casinos, whether floating in the river or far at sea, have to be moved out of Goa. With casinos comes drug menace and flesh trade. Those working in casinos can be provided with alternative jobs. We will give them respectable jobs, not necessary that they should be stewards and waiters. Working in a casino is not respectable? It’s subjective. If we don’t want casinos, we have to provide them alternate jobs. We have an anti-gambling law on one hand and on the other they claim casinos are only slot machines and not gambling. This is hypocrisy. Another long demand in Goa has been that of granting the state special status. Locals claim the state is facing a land and indentity crisis. What is your opinion? I don’t think Goa needs special status for land issues. Agricultural land should not be allowed to be converted for non-agricultural purposes. Regarding the cultural identity of Goans, it depends on the people. If they cherish it, they should work towards preserving it. It’s a local problem. What can special status do to better it? Stringent land related laws are needed. [caption id=“attachment_1475503” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Dr Dessai interacts with the fishing community during a political rally.[/caption] What about the issue of land being bought by non-Goans as second homes? There should be some regulation on sale of land. Taxation for a second or third home should be high. Goans should get land at affordable rates. Real estate sharks are coming and buying land and Goans can no longer afford to purchase a home. Buyers should feel the pinch of buying a second home in Goa. They should be discouraged. Goa has limited land. Of course it should be within the ambit of the the constitution. What do you think of BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi? Modi is too hasty. First of all he declares himself as the PM candidate, in a democracy one cannot decide even before an election to be the PM candidate. This is not a presidential election. Also, he is in two minds. If there indeed is a Modi wave, he should have contested from only one constituency. He is in a hurry to become the PM. They don’t have anyone else. This is like what they did with Parrikar in 2012. They then had said, “Make Parrikar the CM and all issues will be solved.” This is not democratic. The church, which is very influential in Goan politics, has come out and asked its flock to vote for secular candidates. Do you think religious bodies should get involved in politics? I would not like to comment on what the church has said. But you are a candidate. You are contesting the elections. Well, in a way they are right in saying vote for secular parties, I do not find anything wrong with that. I am not affected by it. As a religious body they should not get involved, but as an influential institution they have every right to express their opinion to their followers. Is it then right for the BJP to mention construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya in its manifesto? No. I do not agree. I think it is wrong for a political party to have religious issues mentioned in their election manifesto. What will be your priorities if elected to Lok Sabha? Resolving land issues in Goa. We need to regulate communidade (community) lands, as well as solve issues of evacuee properties. In some places, for years people don’t have any rights over the land they till and they lose out on benefits. I will fight for them. Secondly, water harvesting will be a priority for me. Goa has heavy rainfall but still faces water issues. Through my MPLAD schemes, I will try to either revive the old water harvesting structures that are not being used or use better technology suitable to Goa. I definitely won’t use my funds to pave a road or build a community hall. That is not the purpose of the MPLAD funds, that is for the local government to do.