PANAJI
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday "welcomed" Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s threat to file a defamation suit against the party leaders, labelling it as "yet another desperate attempt to silence the opposition" and to "deflect from ordering a judicial inquiry into the scam".
Addressing a press conference, AAP Working President Valmiki Naik highlighted CM’s "fear of being exposed" and his "continuous attempts to deflect attention" from the job scam "deeply rooted in the BJP".
“CM’s defamation threat is a tactic to suppress voices demanding justice,” Naik said questioning the grounds for the defamation case, pointing out that AAP’s statements merely echoed former Goa Governor Satyapal Malik, who accused the Goa government of corruption. "If Malik's statements were not defamatory, why is CM Sawant targeting AAP?" he asked.
Naik further added that the CM’s recent threat of a defamation suit against opposition leaders is yet another tactic to avoid holding a judicial enquiry.
Naik emphasised that this isn’t the first time the CM has tried to suppress the issue of the job scam. He pointed out that "a pattern of inaction and deflection" has been evident since the scandal first came to light.
Naik stated that the CM’s statements about attaching the culprits’ properties were a thinly veiled threat to silence them and prevent them from naming higher-ups in the BJP.
