Where the Chief Minister went wrong was he gave a blank cheque in the hand of the Health Minister by granting approval of the Cabinet for bypassing the Finance Department.
After the expose, the CM clearly knew what was happening and could have stopped it, but he did not do that, maybe to save his chair as Vishwajit had better influence at the Centre, or perhaps he too was the part of the cartel.
If CM had checked the great robbery then and sacked the Health Minister, he would have killed two birds in one shot. One, he would save his chair and get rid of his bête noire Rane.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemakrponn
To save his chair, Sawant allowed Rane to do what he wants, but sadly, that itself will cost him the chair now
The former Governor of Goa Satyapal Malik blew the lid on the multi-crore scam in the COVID19 purchases by the State government. The revelation to a national channel has again put a question mark on whether Pramod Sawant’s days as CM are numbered?
The corruption in the COVID19 purchases by the Health Department, Government of Goa is nothing new. As the Senior Assistant Editor of Herald, I had exposed the crime on August 20, 2020.
The story was a well researched one, as every item, be it the PPE kits, the mask, the ventilator, the Ivermectin tables, everything was purchased at five to six times the market price.
The scam was entirely a mastermind of Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, who solely decided on the purchases.
Shockingly, a Joint Purchase Committee (JPC) was appointed by the Health Department, bypassing the Finance Department. This meant that the JPC could buy anything and everything bypassing the Finance Department in the name of emergency.
Moreover, in the said scam, the same ventilators purchased by the central government for two lakhs were bought for 8.5 lakhs. In all, 200 ventilators were purchased.
Where the Chief Minister went wrong was he gave a blank cheque in the hand of the Health Minister by granting approval of the Cabinet for bypassing the Finance Department.
After the expose, the CM clearly knew what was happening and could have stopped it, but he did not do that, maybe to save his chair as Vishwajit had better influence at the Centre, or perhaps he too was the part of the cartel.
If CM had checked the great robbery then and sacked the Health Minister, he would have killed two birds in one shot. One, he would save his chair and get rid of his bête noire Rane.
However, the two continued to be at loggerheads – so much so that Rane even insulted the CM several times, even at Cabinet meetings and challenged CM to act against him.
Despite being in the ruling, Rane enjoys complete backing of the Opposition MLAs for the reasons best known to them.
This is when the BJP central leaders intervened and called a truce.
But shockingly, despite being at the receiving end, Sawant did nothing to rectify the error.
Earlier this year, Sawant scrapped the JPC and appointed the new one with the officials of the Finance Department on the panel, which irked the Health Minister again.
But sadly, the Health Department still continues to purchase the materials at a whopping price.
The PPEs, now available for Rs 200 to Rs 450, are still purchased at Rs 1800.
It is being said that Rane did not attend the recent Assembly session as bills worth Rs 120 cr were not cleared by the Chief Minister, who holds the Finance portfolio.
However, one opines CM left it for too late; the elephant has already passed off, and only the tail remains.
Sawant did not act as he feared Rane would split the BJP MLAs, which could cost him the chair or the Central leaders may take Rane’s side and sack him instead. But Sawant forgot, late Manohar Parrikar was popular at the Centre only for his quick decisions and not “yes sir” attitude.
While Sawant may or may not be part of the corruption in COVID19 purchases, the onus lies on him. He is accountable for large-scale corruption as he is the head of the government. If he knew there was corruption and did nothing to stop it, he must shoulder the responsibility and bow out.
