Team Herald
PANJIM: The opposition Congress on Monday demanded the immediate scrapping of recruitment of staff in various government departments and to hold a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the alleged job scam in the Public Works Department (PWD).
After submitting a memorandum to Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat said that the government has adopted a malicious practice in recruitment process in various government departments. He alleged that the Goa Staff Selection Commission constituted in 2019 for conducting examinations and selection of candidates in the government departments has been deliberately sidelined by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government by amending Section 7 of the Act to facilitate manipulation.
Kamat alleged that by amending the Act, government departments have been allowed to hold examinations on their own in order to obtain bribes.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar demanded that all recruitment drives carried out since October 15, 2019 be cancelled and that the government be directed to take up the recruitment process through the Goa State Staff Selection Commission.
Chodankar said that due to favouritism and corruption in selection of staff in various government departments, deserving and qualified candidates have been deprived job opportunities. He alleged a Rs 300 crore job scam in the recruitment of 146 Police Sub-Inspectors (PSIs) and 1647 constables in Goa Police department. He charged that the CM’s Office (CMO) is completely involved in
the sale of jobs.
Chodankar said that all the allegations made by the opposition were now being endorsed by three BJP MLAs including Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserrate, who had alleged Rs 70 crore bribe for government jobs scam by PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar.
The Congress president charged that the total job scam was more than Rs 1000 crore and equivalent of Vyapam scam reported in Madhya Pradesh.
In the memorandum to the Governor, the Congress demanded his intervention in recruitments scam and urged him to give justice to deserving youth of Goa.
