Panaji (The Hawk): On Wednesday, Congress leader Girish Chodankar urged Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to take action against dishonest ministers.
"If the CM can suspend employees of the government for misconduct, then what prevents him from taking action against corrupt ministers," Chodankar remarked.
On Monday, Sawant said that eight or nine employees had been suspended during his four years as chief minister. "Even serious allegations of vigilance against 10 to 12 employees were made. We do it for open government and to ensure that the general public is treated fairly "He had urged the populace to contact the Public Grievances Cell in order to rid the state of corruption.
In response to his plea, Chodankar said that Pramod Sawant was attempting to deflect attention away from the corruption problems that the state administration was facing.
"One thing is now undeniable: the BJP cannot survive without engaging in corruption. As a result, no deadlines are established for any tasks, and Sawant isn't taking any action against his ministers. Why doesn't he punish corrupt ministers if he can suspend government workers? "He inquired.
If Pramod Sawant is sincere in his intentions, he should first act on the 21 reports that were filed by the former Goa Lokayukta Justice (Retired) Prafulla Kumar Misra against public officials, including past and current ministers.
Chodankar claimed that Sawant defends the BJP legislators and cabinet officials whenever there are accusations levelled against them.
"People would have felt more confident to voice their complaints if he had taken action against the corrupt ministers by putting the Lokayukta's findings into practise. How will anyone dare to speak out against Sawant's cabinet colleagues when everyone is aware of the BJP's strategies for silencing dissent? "asked Chodankar.
He claimed that if the administration had been sincere about combating corruption, it would have removed Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, who is currently facing significant corruption allegations.
Chodankar said that the BJP itself had brought the lawsuit against Godinho when he was a member of another party.
"Even if it hadn't done so, the BJP's Louis Berger proceedings against former chief minister Digambar Kamat would still be ongoing. Michael Lobo, who is now a member of the BJP, was implicated in land-related corruption by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane with evidence "claimed he.
Chodankar made the observation that the Goa Staff Selection Commission was not involved in any of the government hiring processes.
"Job openings were sold for money, depriving qualified applicants. In our small Goa, a number of ministers and BJP members are involved in a variety of scams, including the Casino scam, the GMC medicine scam, the Covid and oxygen scam, the land conversion scam, the drug scam, the labour scam, the Zuari land scam, the Atal Setu Bridge scam, the SEZ payment scam, the Panjim smart city scam, the taxi metre scam, the coal transportation scam, the Investment Promotion Board scam, and many others "said Chodankar.
Nobody would take the administration seriously on the corruption issue, he said, "until the government comes clean on this, then it will remain a mere farce."
(Inputs from Agencies)