A BJP delegation led by party chief Nitin Gadkari on Thursday met President Pratibha Patil and demanded that she direct the Central government to take stringent action against illegal mining in Goa in which the Congress-led State government is allegedly involved.
In a memorandum submitted to the President, BJP has alleged that the mining scam in Goa is to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore and is being run with the active connivance of some ministers in the Digambar Kamat cabinet.
“We requested the President to call upon the union government and direct them to hand over the investigation of this scam to a Special Investigation Team or the CBI. An independent investigating team should be set up for a thorough inquiry into the irregularities, and the Central government should be directed to take stringent action against wrongdoers,” Mr. Gadkari told reporters after meeting Ms. Patil.
BJP has also charged that there seem to be separate set of rules for Karnataka - where the party is in power and its leaders faced legal action for involvement in illegal mining - and Goa, where the Congress has reportedly not taken action.
The main opposition has alleged that Mr. Kamat and his fellow ministers are beneficiaries of the scam, and so they cannot be expected to take any action.
“On the contrary, as evident from the recent attempt to suppress the (Goa) PAC report, there would indeed be attempts to cover up the sins,” Mr. Gadkari said.
Other than Mr. Kamat, BJP has named Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhash Shirodkar, and leaders like Joaquim Alemao, Vishwajeet Rane, Dinar Tarcar, Jitendra Deshprabhu among those involved in the scam.
