Team Herald
PANJIM: The cash-for-jobs scam that has rocked Goa over the past month may have thrown up multiple links with the ruling BJP, but for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant none of that seems to matter. On the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, the CM declared that “no political involvement has been found so far going by the information with the police”.
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His statement drew sharp criticism from the Opposition and activists, who have consistently kept the heat on the government. Many have renewed their demand for a judicial inquiry in the light of the CM’s comment.
Among those arrested in the case are a relative of a BJP leader, a former office staffer of a minister and another scam operative who fought municipal elections with BJP support, apart from a number of government employees.
Sawant, however, stuck to his guns while meeting the press on Thursday and generally repeated the lines that the top police brass had mouthed at a press conference two weeks back and faced widespread criticism.
The CM said, “Transparent inquiry is underway… Police have been given free hand… There is no interference from anybody,” he said.
Reacting to the CM’s statement, Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party (GFP) President Vijai Sardesai said, “Can the Chief Minister refuse to acknowledge that many of the arrested are former BJP functionaries, and suddenly give them a clean chit? Everyone knows that in Goa money is paid to get a job done only to persons with political connections. So it is 100 per cent true that there is a very strong link to a top office and this will come out shortly. Using the Goa Police like caged parrots to give clean chit to themselves is not going to create any confidence among the disillusioned
Goan population.”
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa Convener Amit Palekar pointed out that the CM’s repeated statements denying political involvement actually showed that there was political interference.
“Names with close links to politicians have come up. Has that been investigated? It is absolutely clear that there is political interference and political people are involved in it. That is the reason why the CM is giving explanations at every briefing.”
According to political commentator Trajano D’Mello, the needle of suspicion points firmly towards
BJP leaders.
“If there are no political links in the case, why is the Chief Minister not handing the investigation over to a retired Supreme Court judge? Let the judge certify that the police investigation is up to the mark.”
Congress leader Manisha Usgaonkar also demanded a judicial commission to probe the case. “We do not have trust in the police. The Chief Minister should find out why job seekers were going to the people who have been arrested and did not go to their elected representatives.”
