PANJIM: BJP MLA Atanasio (Babush) Monseratte went on a very serious allegation spree which should make the ruling BJP and Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant extremely alarmed. Not to speak of both the Health and PWD ministers against whom serious fingers are being pointed by giving jobs due to extraneous reasons.
If 85 of 105 jobs for LDCs are from Valpoi and Poriem, given on election eve, is it a decision in the public interest or the Health Minister’s political interest.
Upset over jobs in Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim allegedly going to youth from Sattari taluka, three BJP MLAs from Tiswadi taluka rushed to GMC on Saturday and held a meeting with the GMC Director (Administration).
They have also sought the intervention of Chief Minister Sawant to address concerns that the majority of vacant jobs at GMC have gone to candidates who live in Valpoi and Poriem constituencies, which are represented by Health Minister and BJP MLA Vishwajit Rane and his father Congress MLA Pratapsingh Rane.
BJP’s Panjim MLA Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, Sant Andre MLA Francis Silveira, and Santa Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes said that they will also ask the BJP State leadership to intervene.
“GMC is not a private limited company owned by Valpoi constituency and doesn’t belong to just one person,” Monserrate said while addressing media persons post the meeting with the GMC Dean.
Monserrate added that he was informed that no jobs have been given out as yet and asserted that all deserving candidates should get the jobs and that since the hospital is located in the Tiswadi taluka, preference should be given to candidates, who are from Tiswadi.
The MLAs rushed following a report in an English daily, the recruitment panel of the GMC finalised a list of selected candidates for 105 regular posts of LDC. As many as 85 are from Valpoi and Poriem, “We will not allow any injustice to deserving candidates,” Monserrate warned.
PWD’s road of greed: Posts of junior engineers in the PWD were sold to the highest bidder, alleges Monserrate
The Panjim MLA did not stop at that. He headed off to the Chief Minister’s official residence to openly take on the PWD minister and charge that even posts of junior engineers in the PWD were sold to the highest bidder. He charged that PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar was taking bribes up to Rs 25 lakh for jobs in the PWD and claimed that he has proof as regards the charges he is making.
“I know candidates who have paid money as well as eligible candidates who have been denied jobs in PWD,” he said, demanding that the list of selected candidates be scrapped.
“The PWD minister has taken Rs 25 to 30 lakh in each for posts in the PWD. This should go through the Goa staff selections. Parents have raised their children with dedication but government jobs are being sold. This is totally wrong,” he added.
Later, the aggrieved MLAs met Sawant and demanded that both the lists of selected candidates by GMC and PWD be scrapped and that all the posts be filled through the Goa Staff Selection Commission.
According to Monserrate, the Chief Minister has assured them that he will call both the Ministers and the concerned officials and talk to them regarding the charges.
However, the MLAs open confrontation with the manner in which selection and appointments are being made both at GMC and at the PWD is an indication that such charges will not end here. In times to come, there will be open allegations of corruption, which will push back the ruling party and government as it will have to grapple with clear and serious charges less than 80 days before the elections.