The BJP-led government had forwarded the petition to the Governor with its approval to grant Pacheco mercy. Pacheco is currently undergoing a six-month prison sentence for slapping Electricity department junior engineer Kapil Natekar.
“This BJP-led government has shown its true authoritarian colours, and though it liberally uses phrases like ‘law will take its own course’ to defend its errant MLAs/ministers, it doesn’t really want to allow the law to take its own course. AAP Goa commends Kapil Natekar for his valiant legal battle for justice, and also the Goa Government Employees Association for the brave act of standing up for one of its own and defeating this brazen and ill-conceived attempt by the cabinet to allow an elected representative get away with assault,” AAP ad-hoc secretary Valmiki Naik said.
AAP also demanded that the government unconditionally apologize for attempting to misuse and abuse its position of power and trying to override the Supreme Court verdict, and warned the government against repeating such attempts.
