Minister Tawadkar chargesheeted, CM refuses to drop him
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 10 June 2016 20:51 IST
Ramesh Tawadkar is perhaps the first minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party to be chargesheeted with criminal charges. But the ruling party has decided not to drop him from the cabinet.
Goa police today chargesheeted sports minister Tawadkar for an offence committed 7 years ago, during Congress regime.
While functioning as the Canacona MLA of the BJP in 2009, a case was filed by Canacona Range Forest Officer Paresh Porob against Tawadkar.
He was accused of entering the forest office of Khotigao sanctuary and walked away with two accused, booked by the forest officials for illegally entering the sanctuary.
Manohar Padwalkar and Gajanan Naik, both from Karwar, were detained by RFO Porob at around 4.30 while Tawadkar, along with 7 others, entered the forest office at 8 pm and took them away.
Tribal leader Tawadkar, a resident of Gaodongri, also has a house adjacent to the Khotigao sanctuary.
The Canacona police filed an FIR against eight of them while no chargesheet was filed till date.
RTI activist and lawyer Aires Rodrigues had served a legal notice recently to the chief secretary in this regard.
As a result, the Canacona police today filed the chargesheet against him before Canacona JMFC Sarika Phaldesai.
The offences under IPC include unlawful assembly, rioting, trespass, using criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty and obstruction.
CM ASKS, WHY DROP HIM?
When contacted in this regard, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told goanews.com there is no question of dropping Tawadkar from the cabinet simply because he has been chargesheeted.
He was reminded about the BJP’s stand during Congress regime that any minister should be dropped when he is chargesheeted, if not when a police complaint is filed against him, since chargesheet is filed after investigation.
“Filing chargesheet does not make him criminal. The charges need to be proved in the court of law”, he told goanews.com.
According to him, the incident took place seven years ago and everyone knows how serious the office is.
A demand in this regard has been made by Goa Forward.
Goa’s Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar who has now been charge sheeted in the 2009 rioting case must immediately resign and face the trial. It comes as no surprise that misusing his Ministerial position he has already started intimidating and threatening the witnesses. The BJP while in the Opposition had demanded the resignation of then Minister Dayanand Narvekar when he was charge sheeted. So they should now walk the talk and there cannot be double standards.
In a landmark Judgment the Supreme Court in 2014 advised not to induct as Ministers charge sheeted persons facing trial. The Court said that criminalization of politics destroyed people’s faith in democracy and persons, howsoever high could not be exempted from equal treatment. It said constitutional morality, good governance and constitutional trust expected good sense not to recommend any person with criminal charges from being appointed as a Minister. The Court further observed “criminalisation of politics is anathema to the sacredness of democracy. It is worth saying that systemic corruption and sponsored criminalisation can corrode the fundamental core of elective democracy and, consequently, the constitutional governance.” The Court also said: “A democratic republic polity hopes and aspires to be governed by a Government which is run by the elected representatives who do not have any involvement in criminal offences.
Ramesh Tawadkar is facing serious charges of having on 27th April 2009 along with a mob barged into the office of the Range Forest Officer at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary in Canacona and forcibly taken away two accused who were in the custody of the Range Forest Officer. Infact Goa’s DGP Dr Muktesh Chander should order an inquiry and take stern action against those police officers who high jacked the law and took over seven long years to charge sheet Ramesh Tawadkar.
The book that are holding should have been names as
"Discover Goa's goondas , liers, gamblers ,bribe takers u-turn specialists and Feku freedom fighters"
if it was the other way around congress mla chargesheeted and congress was in power what would parsekar do.
Jump around and behave like wild animals with U turn specialist aka feku 2in the front of the crowd.
CM's Bribe taking Brother in law is back to work and those who caught him red handed punished.This is BJP definition of anti corruption.
can anyone tell me why aires protects the churchills, he has not exposed a single wrong thing done by many politicians including full churchill family, Babush and some more. why aires only attacks few