Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday promised strict action against all involved in the 'cash for jobs’ scandal while advising people to exercise caution. He expressed surprise that people are paying money for jobs which are elusive and not even advertised.
At the heart of this issue is the Pooja Naik case which triggered the discourse. The issue has snowballed into a major controversy after it came to light that two government officials are suspected to be linked in the job racket. It is reported that Pooja has named the two government employees in her statement to the police. It is also reported that the accused has been running such operations for over a decade and owns five luxury cars and four flats.
While Pooja has blown the lid off the job scandal, it is hard to believe this is the starting point. Doling out jobs has been a practice that even ministers were linked to in the past. Lest we forget, the short stint of the PDF government gained notoriety because that was when jobs were systematically sold for a price, even those in the police force. Posts of Deputy Superintendents of Police which were being filled through direct recruitment earlier had to be scrapped when charges were levelled of corruption and bribery.
We cannot be alarmed now, because Goa has come across countless Poojas within and outside the political apparatus which has been conveniently overlooked all this while. It is hard to comprehend a job scam without the connivance of those in power. The quota system where ministers were bidding for jobs for respective constituents to placate their vote banks is another offshoot of the issue. Fairness and transparency in recruitment have been compromised. We understand why key ministers are opposing the Goa State Staff Selection Commission.
The rot in the job scam is deeply rooted and exposes the vulnerabilities in the system. The problem lies in the fact that political parties and leaders have failed to prioritise public accountability and instead cultivated a culture where jobs are bartered for electoral favours. By entertaining such practices there has been a cycle of disenfranchisement among Goans as they perceive hard work and merit matters very little.
Goa has witnessed several cases on the lines of Pooja in the past where gullible citizens succumbed to the desperation of government jobs and were duped eventually of cash. Pooja had four such cases earlier, but still continued to carry out such operations. A few months back there was another case where a Rs 3 lakh bribe was paid for a government job. The Opposition has been crying foul on several occasions. Political leaders, candidates and even those in the government know these scams. The problem is when the system chooses to look the other side.
Now that the government has taken the issue seriously, the question is how deep will it dig. Because the deeper the probe goes, the murkier this is going to get. The downside is that while there are cases booked against a few, none have been convicted so far and a negligible few have recovered their money.
Sawant’s assurance of 100 per cent action against those involved is welcome, but the question is whether the ‘buck’ stops here. With a poor record of action against such cases, it appears highly unlikely that deterrents will be set. While there is a need to increase awareness with people being advised not to fall prey to job promises, those who are paying bribes also need to be taken to task.
