PANAJI
Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao on Thursday demanded a probe by CBI or any other independent investigation into the financial affairs of the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) calling it a scam even as he described the FIR booked against its former CEO, Swayandipta Pal Chaudhary by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) as an 'eyewash'.
"Finally, the cat is out of the bag. The FIR is just the tip of an iceberg. We (the Congress) have time and again said and proved that the whole Smart City project is a huge scam," Alemao said referring to the FIR against Chaudhary.
"The FIR says a financial irregularity of Rs 87 lakhs but we know the amount is much, much more and many others are involved in this multi-crore scam," Alemao said, adding that the ACB which is probing the scam may not be able to conduct a fair investigation due to involvement of some ruling BJP party functionaries.
"I demand an independent probe by the CBI or a retired judge in which the role of all former chairpersons and other members of IPSCDL Board is also looked into," Alemao said.
He said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had refused to accept there was a scam in the Smart City work whenever the Congress raised the issue and questioned what action will he now take.
The FIR also proves that Sawant has no control over the bureaucracy, first, it was the Chief Secretary who was involved in a land scam and now the former IPSCDL MD is formally booked, Alemao alleged.
