The Shiv Sena on Wednesday supported Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik’s accusations of corruption against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Goa, saying that it had become a “slave to casino owners”.
Malik had made the allegations in an interview to India Today on Monday. “There was corruption in everything the Goa government did,” alleged Malik, who served as the governor of the state from November 3 to 2019 to August 18 2020. “I was removed for my allegation of corruption against the Goa government.”
The Meghalaya governor also spoke about the Goa government’s door-to-door ration distribution scheme. “It was done on the insistence of a company that paid money to the government,” Malik told India Today. “I was asked by people, including those from the Congress to investigate. I probed the matter and informed the prime minister about it.”
Malik also criticised the BJP-led Goa government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. He said that he had asked the state administration to stop the movement of trucks used for mining amid the pandemic.
“The government did not and then it became a hotspot for Covid,” Malik told India Today.
The Shiv Sena reacted to Malik’s interview on Wednesday, saying there was no doubt about the accusations he had made. The party claimed that the residents of Goa are angry with the BJP.
“The government could not handle the coronavirus crisis well,” the party said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamna. “Tourism in the state has suffered because of the pandemic.”
The Shiv Sena claimed that Goa’s economy has crumbled and a serious problem of unemployment has emerged in the state.
“Goa is getting more entangled in the web of narcotics,” the party claimed. “Incidents creating questions about the law and order situation in Goa are happening continuously.”
The Shiv Sena also accused Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of trying “political stunts” to hide the widespread corruption in the state.
“Sawant is talking big about making every village of Goa self-reliant,” the party said. “He had also tried an experiment called Sarkar Aapke Dwar [government at your doorstep] so that reality of Goa could be hidden.”
The Congress on Tuesday demanded the Goa chief minister’s resignation after the corruption allegations, India Today reported.
“An FIR must be registered against the chief minister and others in the government,” the party’s general secretary Randeep Surjewala said.
“A Supreme Court judge must monitor the investigation [into accusations of corruption]. The Enforcement Directorate, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and Central Bureau of Investigation should also inquire [into the matter].”
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