Goa Congress Demands ‘Raid’ on Manohar Parrikar's House, Lie Detector Test Over Rafale Charge

Panaji: Opposition Congress in Goa Wednesday demanded that the CBI “raid” the private residence of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to find about a file on Rafale deal. It also demanded that Parrikar and his cabinet colleagues should undergo the lie detector test.

The reaction came after Parrikar’s purported claim that he had a file on the Rafale jet deal “lying in his bedroom” and Congress president Rahul Gandhi making an attempt in the Lok Sabha to play an audio tape purportedly of a Goa minister regarding this matter.

Goa Congress spokesperson Siddhanath Buyao said at a press conference here that the audio tape of a conversation between Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and an unidentified person has revealed that a file related to the Rafale deal was lying in Parrikar’s bedroom.

Both Parrikar, a former defence minister, and Rane have denied the allegation. “To check the authenticity of the claim about the file, I appeal Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the Central Bureau of Investigation to raid the private residence of Parrikar. Let the truth be revealed,” the Congress spokesperson said.

Earlier Wednesday, the Congress in Delhi made public the audio tape of a purported conversation between Rane and an unidentified person.

Buyao also demanded that the whistleblower who figured in the tape should be identified and given police protection. “Parrikar’s security should be increased as he should not meet the fate of Haren Pandya and Justice Loya,” he said.

Pandya, former Gujarat home minister, was murdered in 2003. Judge Loya, who handled the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, died in 2014. It was alleged that his death took place under mysterious circumstances. 

Buyao also demanded that Parrikar, Rane and all the other state cabinet ministers who were present when Parrikar made the claim about having the Rafale file in his possession should undergo lie detector test.

He also demanded that the staff in Parrikar’s Delhi office during his tenure as defence minister, including his personal secretary, be probed by central agencies.

Meanwhile, Rane, former Congress leader, denied that the voice in the tape was his. He wrote to Parrikar seeking a probe into the matter by central agencies or the state crime branch.

Parrikar said the audio tape was “doctored” and it was a desperate attempt by the Congress to fabricate facts after its “lies” over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal were exposed in the Supreme Court.