Madkaikar, who has been a minister for all seasons, admits feeling sidelined in BJP, a party he has spent a long time in. Plus, there is the Lokayukta charge he is facing.
Goa BJP leader Pandurang Madkaikar’s recent statement that state BJP ministers were “busy counting money” has stirred up the proverbial hornet’s nest. There have been calls from the Opposition for a police probe, while a complaint has been filed with the anti-corruption branch of the Goa Police.
Soon after a meeting with BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh in Panaji on March 4, Madkaikar, a former minister himself, told the media that “loot is going on in Goa”, adding that he recently had to pay Rs 15-20 lakh bribe to the personal assistant of a Goa BJP minister for the “routine work” of processing a file.
Since then, Madaikar appears to have climbed down. Speaking to The Indian Express Wednesday, he said he would “name the minister at an appropriate time”. “The matter is closed now. We belong to the same party, and the party has taken cognisance. I have been informed that the party will now take appropriate action. I was told if there are any grievances, I should inform the party office-bearers. Accordingly, I have informed them,” Madkaikar said.
On his earlier remarks, he said that as “a citizen of Goa”, it was his duty to inform the authorities concerned. “I have seen (Chief Minister) Manohar Parrikar’s administration… If he [Parrikar] would have been there, he would have immediately sacked him (the minister). He would have taken action. That is what I am expecting from the Chief Minister (current CM Pramod Sawant),” Madkaikar added.
Madkaikar first became a minister in the Parrikar administration after the 2002 Assembly elections, as a first-time MLA from North Goa’s Cumbarjua constituency. He won on a Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) ticket and was made Transport Minister in the coalition government headed by Parrikar.
In 2003, Madkaikar joined the BJP, but two later, resigned as an MLA to switch to the Congress. This caused a split which eventually led to collapse of the Parrikar government.
He then won a bypoll on the Congress ticket, and again found himself in the Cabinet. This time under Pratap Singh Rane as CM, holding the charge of Transport, River Navigation and Sports and Youth Affairs portfolios.
In the 2007 Assembly polls, Madkaikar won from the Cumbarjua constituency as a Congress candidate and was inducted into the Cabinet yet again. In 2012, he repeated the feat from the seat.
However, come December 2016, with months to go for the Assembly elections, he resigned as an MLA and joined the BJP, claiming he was “returning home after 12 years of exile”.
He retained Cumbarjua in 2017 — this time as a BJP candidate. With Parrikar back as CM, Madkaikar was made a minister again, with the portfolios of Power, Social Welfare and Non-Conventional Energy.
In June 2018, Madkaikar, 53, suffered a brain stroke and underwent a surgery. Subsequently, he was dropped from the Cabinet on account of ailing health.
In the 2022 Assembly elections, the BJP gave the ticket to Madkaikar’s wife Janita Madkaikar from Cumbarjua, but she lost to Congress candidate Rajesh Faldessai. Faldessai later switched to the BJP.
The BJP’s decision to induct Faldessai wasn’t the only apparent blow to Madkaikar. In 2020, the Goa Lokayukta had initiated proceedings against Madkaikar in a disproportionate assets case. The complaint, filed in 2018 when he was a minister, alleged that he had a huge building “valued around Rs 200 crore” constructed as part of his real estate business, while his income was recorded at less than Rs 1.5 lakh in his election affidavit. Madkaikar had denied the allegations at the time.
Madkaikar admitted that he had also been “sidelined” by the BJP in recent years.
In response to his recent allegations, Transport and Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho and Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate said last week that Madkaikar should name the Minister who had allegedly asked him for a bribe. Godinho also advised Madkaikar to “look into his own backyard” before commenting on others.
“In a democracy, one should be careful not to abuse the freedom one has to speak. He (Madkaikar) was a minister. Everyone knows him well and he should look into his own backyard and see what happened during his time, before commenting on others.He should go and file a police complaint… Why is he not doing it? Name the minister, take police action,” Godinho said.