PANAJI
Congress leaders slammed the incumbent BJP-led government and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant over handling of the sexual exploitation accusations against its now-former cabinet minister Milind Naik with Congress Goa desk in-charge calling the party immoral, while Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat picking holes in the BJP's claims of ushering in Ram Rajya in the country.
"In all these types of things you have to come openly. In fact, it is more damaging. The party should have taken action. If anything would have happened, Congress would have taken tough decisions straightaway. There is no question of showing any mercy. This affects the moral fabric of the society," Kamat told reporters, a day after the resignation of Urban Development Minister Milind Naik in wake of the sex scandal.
"On the one hand, we are speaking of ushering in Ram Rajya in the country. And what is this then? Every citizen of Goa needs to introspect this. At the time of elections, everyone should introspect and take a decision. What is this going on? How it can be justified. And how can a party keep quiet? How can the government keep quiet?" Kamat also told reporters.
Naik had resigned hours after being named by the Congress in the scandal, accusing the Minister of sexually exploiting a widow from Bihar, who was residing in Goa.
All India Congress Committee official in-charge of Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao also said that the BJP was an immoral party, which even tries to protect sex offenders.
"The Sanskriti (culture) of the BJP is only for show and garnering votes. I cannot say that every person is clean. Everyone may have something... But as a political party, they protect those who are doing wrong. They empower them and make them stronger, that is the problem with BJP," Rao told reporters.
The AICC official also posed a question over whether the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant-led government would ensure a free and fair probe against its own MLA.
"As soon as the issue was raised, the Minister himself should have voluntarily resigned or the CM should have called for his resignation. Why wait for all this to happen? Again they were trying to protect him," Rao said.
"Second thing now, he is talking about a free and fair probe. Do we really have the confidence that the government will do a free and fair probe? There have been so many incidents that have happened in this state, women have been molested and attacked by political leaders. What probe has taken place? Have the people been tried and sentenced," he added.
