From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday asked Prime Minister Modi to immediately sack Union Minister Smriti Irani for her daughter Joish Irani running an illegal bar in Goa and harassing Excise Commissioner Narayan M Gad, who issued a show-cause notice for July 29, using the political influence.
Its chief spokesman and general secretary Jairam Ramesh, along with media chairman Pawan Khera and All-India Mahila Congress President Netta D’Souza of Gujarat, told a Press conference here that the bar licence is granted in Goa only to the running restaurant, but Smriti Irani’s daughter used political influence to get the licences in February last year and even got them renewed last month to serve foreign liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor and country liquor (Feni?) and that too in the name of a person who is no more.
They said the illegality of the bar licences came out in an RTI (Right to Information) application filed by activist advocate Aires Rodrigues, whose complaint forced the excise commissioner to issue the show-cause notice on Thursday. They claimed the restaurant was opened only after getting the alcohol licences.
Circulating the show-cause notice issued on July 21 by the Excise Commissioner Gad, the trio alleged that he is under threat of transfer by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant unless he withdraws notice to Smriti Irani’s daughter running the upmarket Silly Souls Cafe and Bar in Assagaon village. Not only this, the Chief Minister has also deputed bouncers of the disputed Thunder Force Security around the bar to protect it from any untoward incident as if at stake is not only the reputation of Smriti Irani but even that of Modi as she is one of the most favourites of the PM.
They said Rodrigues has challenged the renewal of the licence for retail sale of the liquor on June 29 by the excise department office at Mapusa in the name of one Anthony Dgama, a resident of Vile Parle, Mumbai, despite the fact that he had actually died on May 17 last year and a licence cannot be issued to a dead person.
The Congress leaders said the development in Goa shows corruption at every stage and now attempts are afoot to suppress the facts. They said it is now time for Smriti Irani, who does not desist from asking all sorts of questions to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, should explain this scandal in Goa and why she is using power to suppress it.
