PANAJI
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday announced that it has filed a complaint with the Goa Police Anti Corruption Branch seeking an investigation into the roles of current and former chief ministers Manohar Parrikar, Laxmikant Parsekar and Digambar Kamat as well as PWD Ministers Ramkrishna Dhavalikar and Churchill Alemao in the CDM Smith bribery case.
"It has been revealed through statutory proceedings launched and settled by the United States Justice Department, that officials of the Goa PWD were paid bribes to the tune of $25,000 between 2011 and 2015, to bag and execute a water project in Goa.
"As you may be aware, Manohar Parrikar, Laxmikant Parsekar and Digambar Kamat served as Chief Ministers in this specific period. Also, Ramkrishna Dhavalikar and Churchill Alemão, served as PWD Ministers," AAP leader Valmiki Naik said in his complaint addressed to Superintendent of Police Bosco George.
The complaint has been filed alleging offences under under section 171-B, 171-E of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7-13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
"This same (United States Justice Department) had exposed the Louis Berger scam. This (CDM Smith scam) is the exact scenario as Louis Berger. Goan officials and politicians were paid bribes, this is clear from the US Department of Justice. But in this case there was no investigation," Naik said. "When the news broke in June we called a press conference and demanded that there should be a quick investigation. Instead they had a farcical investigation in which the PWD minister said he held an internal investigation and that it was found that nobody has taken money.
"Dhavalikar was himself minister between 2011 till 2015. The person who is accused he himself conducts the investigation and he himself gives a certificate that he is clean? What a farce. This will not do," Naik said.
"In Goa the AAP is there. If there is no FIR in 30 days we will definitely take the next step," Naik said. The party has also laughed at the ruling party's hounding of Congress Chandrakant Kavlekar.
"The ongoing drama surrounding the police investigation against Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar is yet another instance of Parrikar's well known trait of using the anti-corruption bogey for political convenience. Won't this in a point of time in the convenient political future be dismissed as Kavlekar's ‘attempt of Corruption' and Goa witness the embarrassing encore of the Parrikar-Mauvin, Parrikar-Madkaikar bear-hugs?" party's general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar said.
"For the sake of Goa, AAP demands that chief minister Manohar Parrikar free the ACB from being a caged parrot and allow its officers to exercise their inherent powers, irrespective of the political repercussions of their actions," Padgaonkar added.
