PANAJI
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar scaled up his duel with the president of the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) Manoj Parab and filed a complaint for criminal defamation against him, alleging he defamed the Congress party and also his own and his firm’s reputations.
“I have filed a police complaint against RGP Manoj Parab under sections 499 & 500 of IPC. With his wild and unfounded allegations, Parab has brought disrepute to me, my firm, and the party that I represent, the Congress,” Patkar told the media after lodging the complaint with the Panaji police station.
Patkar refuted Parab’s allegations that he (Patkar) was involved in a mining scam and advised him to first ascertain facts and avoid using false information to deceive the public. Patkar mentioned that the company that placed the winning bid at the 22nd e-auction was the source of the iron ore he brought.
He said, his firm brought two lots -- 38,000 tonnes and 12,000 tonnes -- and moved the iron ore to the private jetty from Pissurlem by adhering to all protocols and obtaining the required license from the Goa State Pollution Board. “Parab needs to realize that the Supreme Court is keeping an eye on the entire process and there is no room for manipulation,”
On Wednesday, Parab had alleged that Patkar received waivers during the e-auction process and accused him of being involved in a scam. Parab at a press conference had alleged that a company won the 22nd e-auction for iron ore of 2019, winning 38,000 tonnes of ore for which a specific lot number was assigned.
“ROM (run-off mines) is the ore type, and Pissurlem is the location of the ore for the same,” Parab had said and alleged that in 2023, the GPCC president’s company, Amit Earthmovers, received a sale permit for the same lot number and the ore is located at a private jetty. He also alleged that It is unclear how the ore was moved from Pissurlem to the private jetty.
