State govt must appeal Godinho’s acquittal: Cong

Margao: State Congress president Amit Patkar on Tuesday wrote to chief secretary V Candavelou, demanding that state govt immediately appeal before the Bombay high court the recent acquittal of minister Mauvin Godinho and others in the power scam case by the special court.In his letter, Patkar said that “no substantial or proper evidence was effectively placed before the court to establish the culpability of the accused”. The Congress president said that the case involved “large-scale corruption” and “misuse of public resources”, with a direct impact on public trust in govt institutions.Patkar put forth three specific demands before the chief secretary— filing an appeal before the Bombay high court, reviewing lapses in investigation and prosecution while initiating action against responsible officials, and constituting a special legal team to pursue the matter seriously.Patkar warned that allowing the acquittal to go unchallenged would “set a dangerous precedent and erode public confidence in the rule of law”. He said that the power scam case was of “immense public importance” and govt must act “decisively in the larger public interest”.The Congress president cautioned that failure to act would compel his party to “take the appropriate legal course”.