Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai has demanded the all the on-going projects in Goa involving Louis Berger should be put on hold till the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the bribery scandal is over.
Responding to the bribery scandal, Mr. Sardesai on Tuesday recalled that he had raised doubts about the Louis Berger, the technical consultants for the Mopa Airport project.
The recent developments cast a shadow on the technical feasibility of the Mopa Airport and if such a vital aspect of the airport is suspect, then the entire project should be halted till the agency completes its probe.
Slamming Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, a former Chief Minister of Goa, Mr. Sardesai said his recent revelations about Louis Berger exposed his vested interests.
“The entire State has seen the ex-Chief Minister defend Louis Berger on the floor of the Assembly in 2013 when I had brought up the issue of the technical feasibility of Mopa. I demand that Mr. Parrikar’s role in this issue should also be probed,” said Mr. Sardesai.
Mr. Sardesai alleged that Rs.14 crores have been paid to Louis Berger by the Parrikar government at a time when the company was black-listed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for a period of 6 months.
“If the Defence Minister had known about the murky deal earlier, why has he kept quiet since then?”,Mr. Sardesai asked.
“Louis Berger was favoured by both the Congress and the BJP,” said Mr. Sardesai and hoped that the CBI conducts an honest and transparent probe without political interference.
