Goa Congress accuses BJP minister of sexually exploiting woman

State Congress president Girish Chodankar on Wednesday accused state Urban Development Minister Milind Naik of being involved in a sex scandal, even as party officials filed a formal complaint against the BJP Minister, accusing him of allegedly sexually exploiting and harassing a Bihar-based woman.

State BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Wednesday has said that he would take up the matter with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, even as Naik could not be reached for comment.

Chodankar's sensational revelation at a press conference in Panaji, came 15 days after his press conference on November 30, in which he said that a Goa Minister was involved in sexually harassing a woman, but had refrained from naming the BJP Minister.

"The day we had announced the sex scandal on November 30, I had not taken any politician or Ministers name involved in the scandal. We had given the government an opportunity to act. They have not... I feel sad and bad that we have to name the Minister involved in this sexual scandal. We hoped that the government would have done due diligence and not made us name him," Chodankar told a press conference on Wednesday.

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"The Minister involved in the sex scandal Minister, Milind Naik, should be sacked and action should be initiated against him. And Ministers like Milind Naik who sexually assault women should be not be treated with kid gloves or the people of Goa will not forgive me," the state Congress president also said.

Ever since the November 30 announcement by Chodankar, the state Congress president had been served a notice from a Mumbai-based firm claiming to represent the interests of the victim. Earlier this week, state Congress official Sankalp Amonkar as well as several others have also been named in a First Information Report allegedly filed by the victim at a police station in Bihar's Bettiah district, accusing them of extortion.

Chodankar has now urged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to empower the woman to take the Goa Minister to task over her ordeal.

"I urge the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to safeguard the interests of a daughter of Bihar, against whom a Minister in Goa is committing atrocities. You are speaking about empowering women in Bihar. Will you stand with your daughter or with the Minister in Goa. The people of Bihar and India are watching you," the state Congress president said.

Youth Congress workers also filed a complaint against Naik at the Women's police station in Panaji and also submitted what they claimed was audio, video and Whatsapp chats between the Minister and the woman as evidence.

Commenting on the revelation made by Chodankar, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said that hue would take up the matter with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after he arrives in Goa from a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh to participate in the good governance meet organised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I will speak to the CM about it. Let the person file a complaint," Tanavade said.

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