Immoral, but not illegal : Parrikar

Sandesh Prabhudesai
21 March 2001  

It was immoral to accept money even for party funds from the tehelka-floated company, but there is nothing illegal or a crime committed by former BJP president Bangaru Laxman, feels Goa's BJP chief minister Manohar Parrikar.

While reacting sharply to the Congressmen's attempt to paralyse Assembly proceedings even in Goa, Parrikar said at least the Congress has no moral right to shout about any kind of corruption in the political field.

According to Parrikar, who also belongs to the RSS cadre, Laxman accepted money for party funds in violation of the internal party code where even the chief minister is not permitted to accept donation, except the treasurer.

But the whole tehelka.com revelation has not even proved the intended crime, asking why the Congress is blowing it out of proportion when they themselves are involved in many scandals involving crores of rupees. "People living in a glass house should not throw stones at others", he said in a specially convened press conference.

While blasting the opposition in Goa which is today divided into several Congress factions due to series of defections, he disclosed that some of them accepted during informal talks in the House that they had no moral right to shout against the issue.

After they paralysed the House proceedings on the first day of the session on Monday continuously, speaker Pratapsing Rane had suspended them for three days. The suspension was however revoked the next day, after NCP legislator Wilfred de Souza made a request in this regard. Parrikar moved a motion of revocation.

Luizinho Faleiro, the state opposition leader, now plans to take the issue to the people by holding series of public meetings in the state after the session ends on 30 March. They plan to mount the first public attack on the occasion of the martyrs' day being observed tomorrow in South Goa.

Parrikar has however countered the move by raising serious doubts about the wealth Faleiro himself has generated by becoming a full-time politician. "He needs to tell the people how the one-time poor politician has become the biggest tax payer in the state in last two decades", he demands.

According to Parrikar, Faleiro has used his political position as the legislator, opposition leader as well as the chief minister to flourish his real estate business. "He is richer than the richest industrialist of Goa", observes Parrikar.

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