Team Herald
PANJIM: The Congress on Wednesday said it would approach Chief Justice of High Court requesting to take suo-moto cognizance of all 21 orders issued by former Goa Lokayukta P K Misra against the State public functionaries. The party said it would also demand that an independent court monitored investigation be initiated in all the cases.
In a press statement, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar also said once the party comes to power in 2022 elections, it would investigate all the reports prepared by the Lokayukta and take stringent action against those found guilty.
“Congress will soon write to the Chief Justice of High Court to take suo-moto cognizance of all the 21 reports against the public functionaries submitted by Goa Lokayukta and order a Court monitored investigation,” Chodankar said.
Justice PK Misra, former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, who recently completed his tenure as Goa’s Lokayukta, returned to his home in Odisha on Monday.
During his tenure Misra indicted former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and recommended disciplinary action against two top officials of the Mines Department for illegal mining lease renewals. Also action against former Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar was sought with regards to irregularities in beach cleaning tenders.
Also, the Ombudsman body had recommended FIR against former Minister Pandurang Madkaikar in disproportionate assets case.
The Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Tourism Manohar Ajgaonkar also came under radar of Lokayukta. Further, the Lokayukta called Minister Michael Lob as “unfit to be Minister” in a case related to North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA), where he was chairman earlier.
