By IANS,
Panaji : Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, allegedly at the centre of a Rs.2,500 crore money laundering scam, could have mining interests to the tune of Rs.400 crore in Goa, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Friday.
Speaking at a press conference here, BJP leader Manohar Parrikar, who is leader of opposition in the state assembly, noted that Koda would visit Goa at least once every month, allegedly to pursue his mining interests.
“What I am saying is that Madhu Koda’s roots are in Goa. The more his case is probed by the Enforcement Directorate, more things will come out,” Parrikar said, while commenting on Koda’s mining interests abroad, which were being investigated.
Alleging that half the ministers in Goa’s cabinet were involved in illegal mining, he said that the mining lobby in Goa was very influential.
“You have seen the effect of the illegal mining lobby in Karnataka and Goa. Even getting mining related information is very difficult for us,” Parrikar said.
Goa’s mining ravaged hinterland exports nearly 33 million tonnes of iron, bauxite and manganese ores. The BJP has alleged that 18 per cent of the ore exported, worth about Rs.700 crore, is illegally mined.