Margao: AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal on Saturday launched a scathing attack on BJP govt in Goa, alleging chief minister Pramod Sawant was involved in “the biggest scam” in the state, and that land was being grabbed from Goans in the name of development, bypassing local bodies through special rule provisions.Venugopal told reporters that the mood in the state was firmly against the BJP dispensation, and that corruption at the top had made good governance impossible. Citing crime figures, he said Goa had recorded 127 murders, 383 rapes, 2,113 cases of theft, burglary and robbery, 354 kidnappings and 1,127 assaults over four years, and claimed the state had the highest unemployment rate in the country. “Congress is going to take up these issues on a much bigger scale during the elections. I am very confident that this time the people of Goa will remove BJP govt (from office),” he saidHe expressed confidence in GPCC president Girish Chodankar, calling him “one of the most honest functionaries” in the party. On alliance talks, he declined to elaborate, saying such decisions were internal matters.On national issues, Venugopal alleged BJP and RSS leaders were “completely responsible” for the reported theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence. “BJP functionaries used to say Mohammad Ghazni looted the Somnath Temple 17 times in 27 years. But now, BJP-appointed trustees looted the Ram temple 17 times in 42 days,” he said, adding he had written to the PM seeking a Supreme Court-monitored probe. He also flagged exam paper leaks and criticised Dharmendra Pradhan’s continuation as education minister.On defections, Venugopal said Goa had been “the epicentre of politics of defection” and accused BJP of using agencies like the ED to blackmail MLAs into switching sides. “The British used to say ‘divide and rule’. Now, BJP has invented ‘theft and rule’ and ‘break and rule’,” he said, accusing the Modi govt of misusing the ED, Election Commission, IT department and CBI.
