Probe Berger consultancies during our regimes: BJP/Cong
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 20 July 2015 20:17 IST
“Probe ‘ALL’ the consultancy jobs of Louis Berger International, during Congress as well as the BJP regimes.”
Surprisingly, the demand has been made by both – the opposition Congress as well as the ruling BJP.
It was a day dedicated by both the parties to the scam of bribes paid by LBI to Goa’s former minister in the JAICA water supply project, almost to the tune of Rs 6.50 crore.
“Don’t be selective. Hold overall inquiry into all the consultancy jobs given to the LBI”, demanded Luizinho Faleiro, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president.
“We will also urge the chief minister to probe into all the consultancy jobs”, said Vinay Tendulkar, the Goa chief of the ruling BJP.
While the scam of paying huge bribes to the Goa minister during Congress regime broke out in the US court, the opposition has pointed out that the same LBI was also given consultancy job to decide on Mopa government, by the existing BJP government.
While Fatorda independent MLA Vijay Sardesai point out this, former urban developent minister Joaquim Alemao said the BJP paid Rs 14 crore for consultancy job of Mopa.
Joaquim’s brother Churchill, the former PWD minister, is suspected to have been involved in accepting the bribe from LBI since he was the minister in 2009-10, when the bribe was reportedly given to clear the JAICA project in Goa.
Churchill, obviously, has denied the charge.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar, on the other hand, has suspected involvement of two former Congress ministers in the scam, including the finance minister (former CM Digambar Kamat.)
Meanwhile, the local BJP president Tendulkar has also supported chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s demand to conduct CBI inquiry into the scam.
The controversy began following information coming out on Saturday that two top officials of Louis Berger, an international consultancy firm allegedly offered a bribe of $976,630 to an Indian minister and government officials in 2010 to secure the five-year Goa water supply and sewerage project.
Names of these ministers or officials have still not been disclosed.
