Mining lobby

AND suddenly illegal mining no longer seems to be a major poll issue in Indian state of Goa! The mega illegal mining scam, which had rocked the state for over two years, has suddenly disappeared from political consciousness in Goa, which goes to the polls on March 3.

Both the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which shrilly took up the scam mantra, and the ruling Congress, at the receiving end of the accusation, have welcomed into their respective folds those allegedly involved in the mining illegalities or are at least sympathetic towards the malaise.

Former national secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Jitendra Deshprabhu was welcomed into the Congress on January 16 by state Congress president Subhash Shirodkar. Deshprabhu had been arrested for illegal mining of iron ore on August 4 last year and released on bail subsequently.

Admitting Deshprabhu into the Congress fold, Shirodkar said the party high command had agreed to the tainted leader's inclusion in the party and that the state unit had nothing to do with it. "The high command has taken all that into consideration before inducting him in," he said, adding that law would be allowed to take its course in the illegal mining case.

Deshprabhu had been arrested after the state government's mining and geology department complained that the former NCP leader owed the Goa government Rs 1.7 crore for the illegal excavation of bauxite. Deshprabhu is now hoping for a Congress ticket to the Porvorim assembly seat, which was newly formed post delimitation.

If the Congress — whose leaders, including Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, have been at the receiving end of the illegal mining allegations — is complicit, aggressor BJP has suddenly and conspicuously lowered its "anti illegal mining" chorus as election campaigning gears up.

In fact, the BJP in the last one week has gone a step ahead and inducted two local strongmen, both of whom are heavily linked to the mining lobby.

Last year, the Goa government had started reinforcing a ban on harvesting of existing mining ore dumps after a probe revealed that a huge chunk of illegal exported ore was sourced from such dumps.