PANAJI: Chief
minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said he would
sack the minister in the alleged
sex scandal if the
survivor filed a police
complaint. His statement follows Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar’s claims last week that a minister in BJP-led state government has been involved in a sex scandal.
“If somebody has any proof regarding the sex scandal, or if the survivor
files a complaint, I will take action 100 per cent. To date, nobody has filed a complaint against anyone,” Sawant, who is also the home minister, said. “Women in Goa have rights, and if there is harassment to a woman, she should file a complaint. I will order a thorough inquiry and once it is proved, I will go to the extent of even sacking the minister concerned. As home minister, I am firm on this.”
Sawant further speculated that the allegations could also be a political strategy in view of the fast-approaching state assembly elections. “During election year, a thousand allegations are made,” Sawant said.
On December 1, a meeting of the core committee of the state BJP, which had been called to discuss Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Goa, turned stormy as some senior party functionaries raised the issue of allegations of sexual assault made by Congress against a cabinet minister.
The next day, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade set December 6 as the deadline for Chodankar to name the minister involved in the scandal. He had also urged the survivor to file a complaint.