Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday demanded sacking and arrest of Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate, who was detained at the Mumbai international airport last week for possessing “large amount of Indian and foreign currency” while going to Dubai.

“BJP demands immediate sacking of Atanasio Monserrate in the wake of seizure of large amount of foreign exchange and Indian currency found on him, while traveling to Dubai. BJP demands that the minister should be booked and arrested immediately under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

He claimed that Monserrate was let off after a call from the union finance ministry.

“BJP also wants to ask the central government as to who from finance ministry pressurised custom officials to free the minister, who was detained by the Mumbai airport customs for 18 hours,” Javadekar said.

He alleged the minister’s son Rohit, who is charge-sheeted in the rape of a German girl, and his two colleagues were allowed to proceed to Dubai without their baggage be checked.

“The minister has shamelessly accepted that he was not aware of the money restrictions and he travelled with even larger cash earlier but was never caught. The education minister is already booked in more than 10 criminal cases in Goa including a case of attacking and burning of the police station, which is under investigation by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation),” Javadekar said.

The party said the minister had not got the mandatory go-ahead from government agencies for travelling abroad. Party’s national secretary Arti Mehra also wrote a letter to Home Minister P. Chidambaram earlier this month saying that there was apprehension that the case against the minister will be hushed up as he belongs to the ruling Congress party.