Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday denied the allegations made against him and his wife regarding an alleged cash-for-jobs scam, and issued a warning to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), threatening a defamation lawsuit. "Those (referring to AAP) who are making baseless allegations against me and my wife, I want to tell them that I've not faced such allegations in my 25-year social and political life," he said. Speaking to media, CM Sawant said the AAP leaders did not have any issue to raise against his government and that was the main reason why they pursued such allegations.
"That's why those who went to jail in the excise scam have levelled allegations against me, but people are aware about them. I want to tell them that a defamation case will be filed against them and they will have to answer about it in the court," Sawant said in a stern warning to the AAP leaders.
AAP allegations against CM Sawant
It is worth mentioning several complaints had been filed across Goa, with many government job aspirants alleging they were forced to pay lakhs of rupees to some persons under the pretext of facilitating employment. The Goa Police have arrested several persons in connection with the fraud wherein many people have been duped under the pretext of being provided government jobs. The AAP alleged CM Sawant and his wife were allegedly involved in the scam.
However, earlier CM Sawant rejected the claims and said an unbiased investigation was underway into the scam, with police apprehending several accused, who were luring youth to pay for getting government jobs.
AAP alleges ED conducted a biased inquiry
Talking to reporters in Panaji on Wednesday, AAP Goa president Amit Palekar said media reports have claimed the ED has initiated an inquiry into the scam. He demanded a judicial probe into the cash-for-jobs scam in Goa, claiming that an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will not yield any result. "I feel that the ED's inquiry will fetch no results as it is yet another agency of the BJP," he alleged. Palekar alleged some BJP functionaries were involved in the scam, hence his party has demanded a judicial inquiry into it.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh also recently targeted the state BJP government over the scam. Reacting to AAP's allegations of Sawant and his wife being involved in the scam, Goa BJP spokesperson Giriraj Pai Vernekar challenged the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and other opposition parties to come forward with "a single document linking the CM or his family to the cash-for-jobs scam." It is laughable that they (AAP) are criticising others, Vernekar told news agency PTI.
Also Read: Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane meet BJP high command in Delhi
