Panaji: Amid controversy over a purported audio tape of a Goa minister on the Rafale deal, the state Congress sought to know on Thursday why Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has not been replaced despite being unwell for 11 months.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar said when Union minister Arun Jaitley underwent a surgery for kidney transplant last year, his portfolios were temporally assigned to another minister, but Parrikar has continued to head key departments despite not being well.
The BJP has retained "critically sick" Parrikar in the chair for almost 11 months, he said and wondered if this has something to do with the information mentioned in the audio tape cited by the main opposition party in the Rafale deal.
The Congress had on Wednesday released the audio tape in which Goa minister Vishwajit Rane is purportedly heard telling an unidentified person that Parrikar has Rafale files, due to which, he has managed to continue in the chair.
Parrikar, a former Defence minister, and Rane, who quit the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after the 2017 Goa polls, have claimed the tape is "doctored".
However, speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Chodankar claimed the audio clip is authentic and said the unidentified person in it is a journalist.
"That time, we had doubts Parrikar had secret (Rafale) documents due to which he has managed to retain the chair. After the Cabinet meeting - in which the issue was reportedly discussed, our doubts were confirmed," he added.
Chodankar said there is no doubt that the voice in the clip is that of Rane.
"It is very clear that the voice is very much that of Vishwajit. Just to divert the attention they are claiming that it is manufactured in the studio of a Congressman," he said.
The GPCC chief was asked about message doing the round that the audio was dubbed in a studio owned by Goa Congress spokesperson Siddhanath Buyao.
"There is a confirmation that the discussion about Rafale had happened in the Goa Cabinet. I don't know why the Rafale issue has to be discussed in the state Cabinet," said Chodankar.
The Congress leader said the other man in the tape is a journalist, but did not reveal his identity.
"There are so many names (of journalists), but I dont know who is he," he said, referring to the journalist named as "Mr X" in the conversation released by the Congress.
Congress spokesperson Jitendra Deshprabhu said "Mr X" in the tape is a journalist who is not based out of Goa.
"Ultimately the truth has to come out. Mr X is not controlled or governed by the Health minister. He is very much a mediaperson like you," he said at the press meet.
Deshprabhu declined to name the journalist, saying "If I speak about him then I would be exposing him."
The spokesperson also said the audio tape is authentic.
"The tape should be examined by the topmost agencies which are neutral. There are many agencies which can do it," Deshprabhu said.
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