Goa Pradesh Congress president Shantaram Naik on Monday alleged that the BJP-led coalition government is targeting Congress legislators “one by one” as a pressure tactic to compel them to join the ruling dispensation in the State.
“It is very clear that one by one our MLAs are being targeted. This is a pressure tactic by the BJP, which wants to poach some of our MLAs by arm-twisting them. But what they want will not happen,” said Mr. Naik at a press conference at the party’s headquarters here.
Naik’s comments come in the wake of series of raids by the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) of State Vigilance and Crime Branch of State police on various premises of Opposition Leader and Congress MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar. He is being probed in connection with an illegal gambling racket and for possessing disproportionate assets.
Fearing arrest, Mr. Kavlekar has filed for an anticipatory bail at a court in Margao in South Goa. Mr. Kavlekar and his wife have already been raided five times in connection with the purchase of agricultural land in Kerala worth ₹4.78 crore, which the ACB has claimed has been purchased from ill-gotten wealth, which is disproportionate to the Congress leader’s income.
Mr. Kavlekar has rejected the ACB charge, claiming his business dealings were “clean”. The disproportionate assets probe started in 2013, but a First Information Report was filed against the husband and wife only last week.
Mr. Kavlekar last week was also interrogated by Crime Branch after thousands of slips of illegal gambling (matka) receipts were found at his residence.
Earlier this month, Imran Khan, a close aide of former Chief Minister and Congress MLA Digambar Kamat was also booked by the Goa Police Special Investigation Team, in connection with the probe of₹35,000 illegal mining scam. Mr. Kamat, however, denied the information given out by the Crime Branch that Imran’s illegal mining operations had a connect with Mr. Kamat Mr. Naik called the police action “politically motivated”.
“Why is only Kavlekar being targeted? Why are raids not being conducted on BJP leaders who are known to be matka operators?” Mr. Naik asked and added that one matka operator was also campaigning in Panaji assembly constituency for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded by-election.
Mr. Naik also said that the Goa government should seriously implement The Goa (Right of Citizens to Time –Bound Delivery of Public Services) Act and, should not make the law a show piece. Mr Naik, referring to the concept of “Ease of Doing Business”, said that if the Goa government was serious, the first thing the government should have done was to first its own basic rules of administration, namely, the “Rules of Business of Government of Goa”. He also said that same was the case with the Central government.