A sensational charge made on Monday, by serving Additional Solicitor General and one of Goa’s topmost lawyers Atmaram Nadkarni, accusing Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of being part of a witch-hunt against him and close aides and former CM late Manohar Parrikar’s family just took a new twist on Tuesday.
The Congress party in Goa has now drawn parallels between this, and what it calls a political witch hunt on its own leader, Chidambaram.
“Additional Solicitor General Atmaram Nadkarni appears to be only saying what the Congress has maintained, that the BJP is on a witch-hunt drive. Our senior party leader and former Union Finance Minister is also a victim of the same witch-hunt,” Congress spokesperson for Goa Trajano D’Mello told DH.
The political cull, D’Mello alleged, has been scripted by the saffron party’s leadership in Delhi.
On Monday, in a sensational interview to a local news channel, Nadkarni had alleged that the Pramod Sawant-led administration was leading a cull of Parrikar’s close associates and aides from administration and government appointments.
The senior law officer, who is a serving Additional Solicitor General appointed by the National Democratic Alliance government, had justified his statement by mentioning the case of Mahesh Sardesai, late Parrikar’s elder son Utpal’s father-in-law.
After retirement, Sardesai had continued as head of the Radiology department of the Goa Medical College, the state government’s apex healthcare facility, on regularly renewed contracts by previous dispensations, including those led by Parrikar.
Weeks after Sawant succeeded Parikkar as the chief minister on March 17 this year, Sardesai’s contract was terminated.
The state BJP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP and Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar, have repeatedly dismissed the charges of removal of Parrikar’s aides from important positions.