Days after Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar claimed that a Goa Cabinet minister was involved in a sex scandal and was harassing the woman involved, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Thursday dared the top state Congress official to name the minister by December 6.
The accusation against the yet unnamed cabinet minister comes at a time when the state is headed for Assembly polls in 2022.
"I dare you (Girish) to declare the name in 24 hours. By December 5... before December 6, he should name the person and the victim should file a complaint. He knows, until the person files a complaint, he cannot name the (accused). Or he will be in trouble," the state BJP president said.
"He should have proof or guts to name the person. Only then you (Girish) talk. After that (naming the minister and filing of complaint) if you ask why the CM has not taken action, I will respond to it at that point in time," he said.
In a press conference on November 30, Chodankar claimed that a cabinet minister in the BJP-led coalition government had sexually exploited a woman and further said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was using the Goa Police to destroy evidence connected to the case. Chodankar had claimed that he had taken stock videos, audios and WhatsApp messages that suggested sexual exploitation of a woman by the minister.
Tanavade claimed that in absence of a name, the accusations made by Chodankar are questionable.
"The person who has made the allegation should name the person. There should be no scope for a question mark. The person who is the victim should also come forward and say I have suffered this. Both these elements are missing in this case. There are 12 ministers and there is a possibility of a sense of doubt developing," Tanavade said.
Watch the latest DH Videos here:
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks