Land grab case: Tug-of-war between Goa CM and Congress leader continues

Panaji, Sep 8 (IANS) Reacting on Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's assertion that his cabinet ministers are not involved in land grabbing, Congress leader Girish Chodankar has said that the former's "forecasts" have always gone wrong.

"Earlier, 'doctor of forecasts' Dr. Pramod Sawant had forecasted that Sonali Phogat had died due to heart attack and also Goa is 100 per cent Open Defecation Free," Former All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Girish Chodankar sarcastically said on Wednesday.

Chodankar recently had alleged that one of the ministers in Goa is involved in land grabbing case and investigation officers are not entertaining the complaint lodged in this regard. He had also demanded to sack the minister. 

However, Chief Minister Sawant reacting to these allegations on Tuesday said that not a single minister is involved in the land grabbing scam.

"Unnecessarily, he is levelling allegations on our ministers, instead he should give evidences to the SIT. Not a single minister is involved in the land scam. Newspapers should verify the facts before publishing," Sawant had said.

"Why he (Chodankar) is showing the case papers (complaint) to media, he should give it to the SIT. Not a single minister is involved in the scam. Girish Chodankar is showing affidavits to the media, he should give it to SIT. I have trust in my ministers and I am ready to conduct a transparent inquiry," Sawant had asserted.

Reacting sharply to the 'Clean Chit' given to the Cabinet Ministers by the Chief Minister on land grabbing, Chodankar on Wednesday said that the government headed by Sawant has become a 'laughing stock' with its "goof ups" every passing day.

According to Chodakar, a police complaint in this regard was lodged at the Porvorim police station on July 20 by a person named Sales Francisco Fernades, who holds the power of attorney of the said land.

"A complaint was also filed with the vigilance department and the panchayat, but none probed the matter, nor the case was handed over to the SIT," Chodankar had said.

The SIT headed by SP (Crime Branch) Nidhin Valsan was formed in July 2022 to look into complaints linked to alleged illegal land grabbing and conversion.

Chodankar had said that if the government fails to act on the complaint filed by Fernades, he will be forced to open another case of land grabbing, in which the same minister is allegedly involved.