Team Herald
PANJIM: Controversy surrounding the international cuisine serving restaurant and bar in Goa’s coastal village of Assagao, purportedly run by Union Minister Smriti Irani’s teenage daughter, has spiced up the political scene from Goa to Delhi.
While the Opposition parties led by Congress are making the best use of this opportunity to corner the Narendra Modi-led government, Irani broke her silence by holding a press conference at her official residence in Delhi to rubbish allegations against her daughter.
The Goa controversy went national as Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera fired the first salvo. “Smriti Irani was asking all kinds of questions from Rahul Gandhi, but we want to ask her what problem do those running bars have with those running newspapers. We are running only a newspaper and you are running illegal bars,” Khera alleged.
The Congress veterans, armed with relevant documents, claimed that Irani’s daughter got a fake licence to serve liquor by submitting fake documents.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday air-dashed to the national capital.
Though official sources said Sawant has gone to Delhi to attend the swearing-in of President-elect Draupadi Murmu slated for Monday, there were talks that he rushed to Delhi to apprise the BJP leaders following allegations of illegal Excise licence issued to Union Minister Smriti Irani’s family in Goa.
“The Congress assassinated and publicly mutilated my child’s character. Her character was publicly mutilated by the Congress and they claim that the mutilation stemmed from a show cause notice. I want to ask that Congresspersons, where is my daughter’s name in the papers?” Irani asked as she flashed photocopies of the show cause notice issued by the Goa Excise Department. “I will seek answers in the court of law and the court of people,” she said.
She was referring to Congress spokespersons Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera’s media briefing.
Earlier in the day, Ramesh and Khera claimed the entire episode that unfolded through RTI replies “is a very serious issue” and demanded that the PM sack Irani from the union cabinet.
“Anthony Dgama, to which the licence was issued on June 22, 2022, died in May last year itself. Anthony’s Aadhaar Card showed that he was a resident of Vile Parle in Mumbai. His death certificate has also been received by the lawyer who applied for the RTI,” Ramesh said referring to RTI documents obtained by Advocate Aires Rodrigues.
The former environment minister claimed that since the matter is related to the Union Minister, all the rules and regulations, in this case, were kept in abeyance. “According to the excise policy of Goa, only existing restaurants in the State can get a bar licence, that too one restaurant at a time. But in February last year, Smriti Irani’s family restaurant was issued licences for the retail sale of foreign liquor as well as retail sale of foreign and liquor made in India. The documents also revealed that bar licences were issued without the required restaurant licence, which violates the law,” he said.
The Goa Congress president Amit Patkar raised apprehensions that the excise official who served the notice to the bar owner was reportedly being transferred under pressure from the authorities.
“We have been given to understand that the officer has been pressured not to act. If the government takes action against the officer, the Congress will take to the streets. Let him inquire as per the rules, Patkar said.
The show cause notice returnable on July 29 will be a crucial watch for the nation.
