Team Herald
PANJIM/MARGAO: The opposition is clear. The main subject on which the Goa government should be answering serious questions from the people- the cash-for-votes scam, has gone for the round and can’t be found.
At the same time a new side subject - a purported sextortion scandal involving an MLA, has been introduced in the syllabus which everyone is encouraged to study.
Get the job scam back home, is clear message from Goa’s Opposition, calling it a “meaningless sextortion scam to divert people’s attention from the job scam”.
Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai said the “sextortion” issue has suddenly popped up to divert attention from the cash-for-jobs scam.
Sardesai said, “An MLA from the Opposition is a complainant in the matter of “sextortion”. Investigation is in progress. Things like making statements on the case, making something viral, creating a new “X” handle formerly known as Twitter, making things viral on that and later deleting the handle are to divert the issue of cash-for-jobs scam. The issue has started echoing at national level"
Sardesai further stated that establishments are working to put the issue under the carpet. “Judicial inquiry in the cash-for-jobs scam must be ordered and if not then the reason behind that must be clarified. Now there are complaints that FIRs are not being registered if people are trying to file complaints.”
Congress leader from Margao, Savio Coutinho said, “The BJP government is master in manipulating situations to cover up their major frauds. Just as every Goan is waiting for answers to the cash-for-jobs scam, a new controversy is being created by some meaningless “sextortion” scam. Just as the government has fairly succeeded in mellowing down the protests over the destruction of our environment and ecology, they have now embarked upon taking this issue to subvert attention to the cash-for-jobs scam.”
Stating that BJP government is trying to divert the job scam issue with the “sextortion” case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday reiterated its demand for judicial inquiry into the cash-for-jobs scam.
Addressing a press conference in Panjim, Valmiki Naik, AAP Goa Vice President said, “It is the habit of the BJP to allow corruption to happen and later put a lid on it. They are trying to divert the attention of the people. So far as many as 32 FIRs have been registered, while around 50 people have been arrested in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam. There are around 100 victims. It is a pan Goa scam. Goa Police themselves have admitted that the scam has been happening since 2014 and BJP has been in power since then in the State.”
“Can any scam continue without the knowledge of the government? It cannot. The Chief Minister and ministers are trying to intimidate people who are trying to expose scams. The BJP government is threatening the victims to prevent them from naming new accused,” Naik said.
“But we will not stop until the guilty are punished. Our demands are that there must be judicial inquiry and more people should be encouraged to file complaints,” he said.
Engineer Roque Virgilio Mascarenhas, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa Vice President said, “The cash-for-jobs scam is a betrayal not only of deserving youth, but also of their parents, who have sacrificed so much to secure a bright future for their children. The government’s attempts to divert attention from this shameful scandal show a lack of accountability and disrespect for hardworking families. Goa deserves a system based on merit, honesty, and justice, not one plagued by corruption.”