Goa Congress Alleges 'Sex Scandal,' Gives BJP Govt 15 Days To Sack Minister

The Goa Congress has alleged that a minister of the state Cabinet is guilty of sexual harasxment

Ahead of the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, the Goa Congress on Tuesday, 30 November, catapulted some serious accusations towards the BJP-led state government.

(Photo: The Quint)

Ahead of the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, the Goa Congress on Tuesday, 30 November, catapulted some serious accusations towards the BJP-led state government.

In a series of posts titled "BJP GOA MINISTER SEX SCANDAL," the Goa unit of the Congress Party has alleged that a minister in the state Cabinet "used his political power for all the wrong reasons. Sexually exploiting the ones who should be protected, this is not done."

While the Congress has refrained from naming the minister, it has said:

"Instead or working towards making Goa safer for women, if @BJP4Goa officials themselves create such crimes how will the people even trust anyone from the government ? This is an utter disgrace!"

"There is a possibility of multiple women falling prey to such powerful officials who torture and exploit them. Such a heinous acts should not be neglected!" the party added.

'Shame': Congress Demands Sacking of Accused Minister Within 15 Days

"It is a shame that a BJP minister in the Goa government is involved in sexually exploiting a woman repeatedly. The evidence has been brought to us by a responsible citizen. We demand that chief minister Sawant should immediately sack the minister in question," Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Goa Mahila Congress Beena Naik has also condemned the alleged criminal act.

"Shocked to learn of a fact that a Goa BJP minister is involved in sexually exploiting a woman. How will women in Goa feel safe?" she said.

The Congress party has given the BJP a deadline of 15 days to sack the minister and launch an inquiry against them.

What the BJP Has Said

Speaking to a local daily, BJP MLA from Vasco, Carlos Almeida has said that the allegations, if they carry weight, will be probed.

"The allegations if true, must be seriously investigated. The chief minister must not tolerate this non-sense. BJP under (Manohar) Parrikar was a different party. He was a good man, and he would have never tolerated this."

Carlos Almeida

Meanwhile, Goa BJP President Sadanand Tanavade said there was no complaint of any sexual exploitation against any minister, and that the allegations were being levelled as the Assembly polls were approaching, The Indian Express reported.

Forty seats of Goa are slated to go to polls in February next year.