AAP volunteers hold sit-in outside Goa Secretariat

Panaji, July 12: AAP Goa volunteers on Tuesday held a sit-in outside the State Secretariat after they were denied meeting with Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.

Nearly 200 volunteers marched to the Secretariat at Porvorim near here with a memorandum signed by over by 20,000 people condemning Parsekar's action to reinstate his brother- in-law Dilip Malavankar in Goa State Industrial Development Corporation (GSIDC), who was is facing charges in an alleged bribery case.

"Today was chief minister's public meeting day at the Secretariat. But did not turn up, may be because he heard that we are going to submit him the memorandum," AAP Goa Coordinator Rajashree Nagarcekar told PTI.

The volunteers continued their sit-in outside the gate after they denied entry inside the secretariat complex by police. Later, after constant sloganeering for over two hours, 10 members of the delegation were allowed to meet Chief Secretary R K Srivastava, to whom they submitted the memorandum.

Malavankar was arrested by the ACB in August last year after he was trapped while accepting bribe of Rs 1 lakh to allot plot at Tuem Industrial Estate in North Goa.

He was reinstated in GSIDC last month, triggering largescale political protests.

All political parties including Congress, Goa Forward, NCP and AAP had raised their strong objection to the reinstatement pending inquiry.

PTI