PANJIM: Congress on Saturday said that Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao has endorsed the allegations levied by the opposition and former Minister Ramakrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar of ‘rampant corruption and weakened governance’.
The statement comes a day after Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar declined to accept the allegations levied by the Archbishop.
“The Archbishop has endorsed what we have been saying in the past four and half years. Even their (BJP) own former Minister Dhavalikar has spoken of corruption. BJP has lost its moral claim to come back to power,” Congress media cell in-charge and former law commissioner Ramakant Khalap said.
Claiming there is a scam in the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC), the Congress demanded an investigation into the various projects
undertaken by the corporation in the last four and half years.
“Former PWD Minister Dhavalikar is on record stating that infrastructural works tendered at reasonable rate by PWD was charged in multiples by GSIDC. GSIDC pays crores of rupees as consultancy fees. This needs to be investigated,” Khalap said, claiming the party will soon approach Lokayukata for a probe.
Congress, if it is voted to power, has promised to amend the Goa Agriculture Tenancy Act by sending the disputed cases back to the mamlatdar for settlement and disposal. “For this purpose, we would introduce a Revenue Court Act, under which revenue judiciary would be set up at taluka, district and State level, to dispose such disputed tenancy and mundkar cases,” Khalap said.
“Not just this, but we promise to enact a law making the tenants and mundkars owners of the land, but with a condition to ban sale of land,” he added.
Congress also promises to bring in legislation to ban sale of agriculture land to non-Goans, Khalap said.
“The Congress party will form the government in 2017, with MGP and Goa Suraksha Manch acting as constructive opposition. BJP will be reduced to single digits,” he said.
