Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The two candidates who emerged victorious in the Lok Sabha elections from Goa, Viriato Fernandes of the Congress and Shripad Naik of the BJP, are known as “crorepatis”.
Information was disclosed in a report released by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
But when it comes to criminal cases brought against them, things are different. While Capt. Fernandes, a first-time legislator, is charged with wrongful restraint, the charges were filed almost eight months before the Lok Sabha elections, and six-time MP Naik has no criminal history.
After 26 years of service in the Indian Navy, Fernandes was charged on August 11, 2023, following the registration of a First Information Report against him at the Maina-Curtorim Police Station in 2020. The trial is still pending because he decided not to file an appeal.
Fernandes is charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including joining or continuing in an unlawful assembly despite being told to disperse (Section 145), punishment for wrongful restraint (Section 341), every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in pursuit of a common objective (Section 149), and being a member of an unlawful assembly (Section 143).
Naik has a spotless record, but his assets have also increased significantly. The ADR report states that Naik’s assets rose by 65% from Rs 6.57 crore in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to approximately Rs 10.86 crore in the 2024 elections. In contrast, the South Goa MP’s assets are estimated to be worth Rs 5.27 crore.
Four of the sixteen candidates have criminal cases filed against them, with one of them facing a serious criminal charge, according to ADR’s prior report on the candidates.
In terms of their financial histories, the candidates from the Congress and the BJP are both crorepatis, in addition to one each from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Corruption Abolition Party (CAP).
Pallavi Dempo, the BJP’s candidate for South Goa, lost to Captain Fernandes by a narrow margin. She has the highest declared assets, valued at Rs 1,361 crore, followed by Ramakant Khalap, who lost to Shripad Naik, with Rs 17 crore.
