Team Herald
PONDA: Twenty-four hours after he was suspended and asked to hand over his charge to the next senior most officer, Goa Dairy Managing Director (MD) Navso Sawant has refused to vacate his post and hand over the charge.
Sawant was suspended by Goa Dairy Chairman Madhav Sahakari on April 10, and was asked to hand over the charge to Dr Ajit Kosambe.
However, on Wednesday, Sawant was seen by media persons occupying his chair in the MD’s cabin. When asked why he was disobeying the order of Sahakari, Sawant said that the chairman had no power to suspend the MD under the provision of cooperative laws. “Under the law, only the Board of Directors (BoD) has the power to suspend me. Only the BoD with prior approval of Registrar of Cooperative Societies or National Dairy Board can suspend me,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said that he did not receive his suspension order from Goa Dairy chairman.
“Yesterday (April 10) till 5.30 pm, when I closed my office and went home, I did not get any suspension order. Meanwhile, today (April 11), a majority of eight directors have given me a copy of the no confidence motion moved by them against Sahakari,” he said.
When asked for his response to the alleged incriminating video footage against him, Sawant said, “There is no truth in the video recording. It is a duplicate video. I am ready for inquiry into not only for the last five years of my tenure, but also into the past ten years of my tenure.”
On his part, Ajit Kosambe said that he did approach Dr Sawant requesting him to hand over the charge of MD, but he refused. “I reported the matter to the Goa Dairy chairman,” he added.
When contacted for his comments on the disobedience of Dr Sawant, Sahakari said that the government should investigate Dr Sawant for the scams he committed in Goa Dairy.
He also opined that all the directors of Goa Dairy should voluntarily resign their posts for the sake of an impartial inquiry into the scams committed by Dr Sawant and the affairs of Goa Dairy. “Or, the government should temporarily suspend all the directors, including me, and conduct an impartial investigation into scams committed in Goa Dairy and clean up the cooperative sector in Goa,” he added.
Specifically commenting on the refusal of Dr Sawant to vacate the post of MD, Sahakari said, “This itself shows how he is manipulating the Goa Dairy. He has mastered the arts of manipulation. I have records to show that the suspension order has been duly inwarded and reached the MD office.”
When asked whether he has the authority to suspend the MD, Sahakari said, “As per the right conferred on me under by-law No 21.3.2 of the Goa Dairy, I issued the suspension order against the MD. If he is not vacating the office, let the government and the registrar of cooperative societies conduct an inquiry.”
