MARGAO
Beleaguered depositors of Visionaries Society have demanded that the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Cooperation Minister Govind Gawde take steps to arrest the former Chairperson of the Society and 11 others and ensure the return of their hard-earned money at the earliest.
The government has been told to bail out the depositors by working out a scheme, saying the government cannot abdicate its responsibility by turning a blind eye to the functioning of the Visionaries Society all these years.
Saying that the depositors will put up a united front, Myron Fernandes further said that they will ensure the defeat of the four MLAs if their demand for the arrest of the former Chairperson and 11 others is not met and their properties attached.
He said the depositors had met the Chief Minister as many as four times and had called on the Cooperation Minister on more than 25 occasions, but in vain. “We were accompanied by the four MLAs, but the depositors are yet to get their money till date”, he said.
He sought to know the status of the investigations undertaken by the Economic Offenses Cell against Gracy Vaz and others in this matter. “Every time, the depositors insist on the arrest of the former Chairperson, the Minister for Cooperation says the former Chairperson will get bail within a day. We would like to the tell the government to meet our demands within 20 days or else the depositors along with their relatives, friends and well-wishers will all come out on the roads to stage a protest”, he warned.
Slamming the government for blaming the depositors for investing money with the Visionaries Society, he said the government is equally responsible for the plight of the depositors for not carrying out timely audit and warning the people on the risks attached to investment in the society.
The depositors had assembled in the city as the application filed by Gracy Vaz for release of her passport was scheduled to come up for hearing before the local court on Thursday. The depositors have filed an intervention petition in the matter.
