Goa PWD junior engineer exam: After bribery allegations, Cong demands CBI probe

Panaji, Dec 13 (PTI) The Goa Congress on Monday demanded a CBI inquiry into allegations made by a BJP MLA that a minister in the Pramod Sawant government in the coastal state took bribes from candidates for the post of junior engineer in the Public Works Department.

BJP MLA Atanasio Monserratte had on Sunday told reporters that state PWD minister Deepak Pauskar had taken bribes from candidates and informed that he had met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant demanding cancellation of recruitment and holding of a re-examination.

The allegations were refuted by Pauskar who had said the exam was conducted by experts from the Government Polytechnic College in Panaji and that his department had no role to play.

On Monday, addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter, adding a Staff Selection Commission formed to take care of such examinations and recruitment has been systematically sidelined by the state's BJP government.

He said department were being allowed to hold examinations on their own in order to obtain bribes, and demanded that all recruitment drives carried out since October, 2019 be canceled.

Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar likened the issue to the Vyapam recruitment scam in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and claimed the irregularity in Goa may be to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore. PTI RPS BNM BNM BNM