CM must deny BJP minister’s hand in Serula scam, Goa TMC

MARGAO: Goa TMC on Tuesday challenged chief minister Pramod Sawant to deny the involvement of a cabinet minister and BJP office bearers in the Serula comunidade land scam, even as it slammed the BJP government for its failure to fix terms of reference for the special investigation team (SIT) probing land scam cases.
“The CM is silent on the Serula Comunidade case where properties of over lakhs of square meters have been fraudulently allotted, transferred, and usurped,” TMC’s Trajan D’Mello said.
“The CM must deny the involvement of his cabinet minister and office bearers of the BJP government in fraudulently transferring the comunidade land. Failure to do so would mean that he accepts the TMC’s charge.”
On SIT, D’Mello said, “The SIT presently is a paper tiger which permits political touts who have allegiance to the BJP government to make deals. The failure to release the terms of reference followed by the chief minister’s comment on the meeting of the SIT is shrouded in mystery rather than providing clarity. Without the terms of reference, those in power can easily manipulate and control the investigation.”
He further said that Goa TMC, through a letter to the CM, has demanded that the 15 files seized by the crime branch be immediately transferred to the SIT “wherein the involvement of the minister and BJP office bearers will be unraveled.”