Re- posting from the time line post of #Rajan #Parikar A Vote for Dr. Samir Kelekar I was pleased with the news that Dr. Samir Kelekar has decided to contest the elections from Panjim. In this entry, I shall outline my case for electing him. Dr. Kelekar and I have known each other for almost 3 decades since the days when we were graduate students in the USA. In those years we would exchange email (this was before the advent of the World Wide Web, Google and Facebook) and participate in discussions on Usenet. Upon graduation both of us found ourselves in California. He came here as a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and we had occasion to meet in person. A few years later, he returned to Goa. Dr. Kelekar and I disagree on many issues, political and otherwise, and some of those differences are fundamental. He strikes me as a “secular progressive.” I, on the other hand, am a capitalistic, rightwing Hindu fundamentalist (unlike that phony Manohar Parrikar). Let me cite a couple of specific areas where Samir and I diverge. One, I don’t have the kind of issues with Narender Modi that he has (does not mean I like the way he has performed to date). Two, I am a nationalistic Goan, unapologetic in my contempt for what India and Indians have done to Goa, and I am convinced that the migrants have stained and ruined Goa. I don’t think Dr. Kelekar shares these views. He and I have disagreed in person, and often in public, in online discussions some of which turned vehement and ugly. Why, then, you may ask would I enthusiastically endorse Dr. Kelekar’s candidacy? It is because I can vouch for his brilliant mind, his intellectual integrity, and the strength of his character. Very simply put - he can’t be bought (something you cannot say about any of the 40 fellas in the Goa Assembly today, including the one who bolted recently). You may not agree with him on every issue, but you will get an exceptionally honest man representing you and your interests. Someone who truly and deeply loves Goa and our mai-bhaas Konkani. We ought to have more men and women like him in our politics today. We have already seen the debacle of Manohar Parrikar, his corruption, incompetence, and his lies. With Sidharth Kuncoliencar you get Manohar Lite, marinated in the same rotten BJP stew. Goans complain a great deal about corruption in public life. Then how can these Goans justify voting for BJP or Congress this time around? With Dr. Kelekar you get a good man, an educated man of uncommon intellectual ability, someone trained to be receptive to new ideas and subject them to critical analysis. We ought to give him a chance to serve our (alas, now ruined) Panjim.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 05:19:02 +0000
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