The induction of Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar into the Goa Cabinet raises serious questions about political morality and public accountability. Amonkar won the 2022 Assembly election on a Congress ticket, defeating BJP candidate Milind Naik by 1,941 votes. During the election campaign, Amonkar and Congress leaders had prominently raised allegations of sexual exploitation involving Naik, which eventually led to his resignation as a minister in December 2021. However, an important question remains: What happened to the woman at the centre of the controversy? Did she receive justice? Was the matter pursued with the same urgency after the elections? Amonkar subsequently joined the BJP in September 2022 along with seven other Congress MLAs and has now been rewarded with a Cabinet berth. This raises questions about the sanctity of the people's mandate and the credibility of political promises. Sensitive issues should never become election-time tools for political gain. If leaders promise justice before elections, they must remain equally committed afterwards. Voters deserve transparency, accountability and representatives who put public interest above political ambition.
EVARISTO FERNANDES, Merces
