New Delhi: Pointing fingers at the government of his own party, Goa Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former minister Pandurang Madkaikar has accused the Pramod Sawant-led government in the state of being involved “only in corruption”.
“Loot is going on. Nothing is moving. They are only busy counting money. All ministers are busy counting money. Nothing is happening in Goa,” said the former minster in the Sawant-led BJP government.
Madkaikar alleged that one has to pay lakhs to state ministers to get “filed cleared,” and claimed that this past week, he too was forced to pay a BJP minister “Rs 15-20 lakh bribe” for “a small work”.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday (March 5), after a two-day visit of B.L. Santosh, one of the party’s top national leaders, to the state, Madkaikar stated, “He [the minister] took my file which I processed from the department… kept it at home and left a message that if someone comes to collect this file, tell him to come and meet him.” He told reporters that he sent his manager to meet the unnamed minister who told him to meet his assistant. “The assistant demanded Rs 15-20 lakh. The money was paid last week. It was a routine work.”
He, however, didn’t name the party’s minister to whom he had to pay the hefty bribe, and instead told reporters that he would name the minister when he leaves the party.
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Curiously, chief minister Sawant didn’t deny the charges levelled against a minister of his government but said, “He has not made an allegation against me. Ask him [who the minister is]”.
Reacting to Madkaikar’s allegations, the opposition parties have demanded a probe into the matter.
As per a Hindustan Times report, Congress leader Yuri Alemao said chief minister Sawant must issue a statement on the allegations, adding, “It is a serious charge by their party colleague. Others who continue to be ministers have levelled allegations of corruption. This is not to be taken lightly. This allegation has to be seriously looked into. There needs to be an inquiry.”
The news report quoted Goa Forward Party leader Vijai Sardesai saying if the state police or the anti-corruption bureau do not act on this, “it means the government wants to send a message that corruption has been normalised and no one will be spared, not even former lawmakers.”
A former Congress leader, Madkaikar was a minster in the Sawant government between 2017 and 2019. He stepped down in 2019 due to a health condition. Though his wife contested the 2022 Assembly polls on a BJP ticket, she lost to the opposition Congress candidate Rajesh Faldessai. Faldessai later switched to the ruling BJP.
