PANAJI
Stung by former Union Finance Minister and AICC overseer for State assembly polls P Chidambaram's criticism of the Goa cabinet, minister Mauvin Godinho on Tuesday lashed out at the senior Congress leader urging the latter to share the secret to his fast-growing wealth with Indian industrialists.
Speaking to reporters at the State assembly complex, Godinho also said that before casting aspersions on him and his cabinet colleagues, Chidambaram should recall the time when he took up the former's brief in a graft case.
"The people of Goa may not have slept in peace last night knowing the kind of government and ministers they have got. Are Messrs Pramod Sawant, Vishwajit Rane, Mauvin Godinho, Ravi Naik and Babush Monserrate the leaders who will bring about change or development?" Chidambaram had said in a tweet on Tuesday morning. The former Union Minister was the All India Congress Committee's senior observer for the February 14 assembly polls.
Godinho's response to Chidambaram's barb was savage.
"Does he realise that people in India have not slept from the day they have learnt that P Chidambaram used his intellect as supposed to be a good finance minister for furthering his son's ends, his ends? He has done business in multiple countries. He has done business in this country where his wealth has multiplied many-fold," Godinho said.
"So many quantum jumps, thousands of crores. I wish he gives the formula to industrialists in this country so that the wealth multiples that many times as his and his son's wealth multiplies. And he has the gumption to comment on our ministry on members of the Cabinet?" he added.
Godinho also recalled his days in the dock two decades back, when his lawyers reached out to Chidambaram to handle the case against the former Goa Power Minister.
"Does he know, he is a lawyer? P Chidambaram forgot that he once appeared for me in this very same case and he said what nonsense they have done. Ask him. My lawyers had gone to him and he appeared for me. I can prove with records that he appeared for me. So how can he comment against me?" Godinho claimed.
"Had he used his intellect, had he used his intellectual capacity, to further the finance in this country, I would have been very happy. Instead, he used it for himself, his son and you know how much the wealth multiplied, that is why he is facing multiple cases. And he comments on us?... He should learn political decency," the Minister said.
