Goa minister says he can account for all the money PTI | 09:04 PM,Apr 03,2011
Panaji, Apr 3 (PTI) Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate today said that he could account for all the unaccounted money that was found from him when he was detained at Mumbai airport by Customs officials.Monserrate told PTI that he was carrying Rs 21 lakh in different currencies, and was on his way to Dubai along with his friend and son, when he was intercepted by Customs officials before boarding the flight on Saturday morning. "I was having traveller's cheques worth USD 25,000 which I had procured last year when I was supposed to go to London for a business trip," the minister said, adding that the cheques remained unspent.Monserratte said he was also carrying 75,000 Dinar (sic) and Rs 63,000. "I was not informed that one cannot carry such amount of traveller's cheques when you are on a tourist visa. It is allowed only on business visa," the minister said. He claimed he had visited countries like Russia and Japan with these traveller's cheques. "I did not encash the cheques in India because of the fluctuation of the currency." Monserrate said that he could account for all the money and he had been summoned on April 8 to Mumbai with accounts. "This is not unaccounted money. I can produce all documents," he claimed.The minister said that he left for Mumbai on Saturday by early morning flight, and was supposed to board flight to Dubai at 10.25 AM."On the way, I was supposed to pay Rs 1.51 lakh for the maintenance of my flat in Mumbai," Monserrate said, adding that he paid that amount, but was carrying additional Indian currency notes, which were left with him. He said he was carrying foreign currency worth only Rs 21 lakh, and not crores of rupees, as reported by the media.PTI http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/goa-minister-says-he-can-account-for-all-the-money/635739.html * * * Parrikar wants edu min sacked TNN | Apr 3, 2011, 03.37am IST PANAJI: Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar has demanded that the government sack education minister Atanasio 'Babush' Monserrate from the state cabinet. The BJP called for a press conference on Saturday evening after news broke out about Monserrate being detained at Mumbai airport for carrying money that was beyond the permissible limit abroad. "The chief minister must answer whether Monserrate has informed him, the governor and the speaker that he is leaving for a foreign destination while the assembly session is under way," Parrikar said. "The minister has violated the Customs Act. This amounts to smuggling of foreign currency. His intention is very clear. Though attempts are being made to show that he is being charged under Foreign Exchange Management Act ( FEMA), the matter is much more serious. We demand that this minister be removed immediately. There should be an investigation into his disproportionate assets," the opposition leader said. He criticized Monserrate for holding the education portfolio despite the "criminal cases against him". "An education minister should have intelligence and morality. The government should sack him before Tuesday's session of the assembly," Parrikar said. Interestingly, when Monserrate was a BJP member and minister in the BJP-led government in 2004, Parrikar was among the first to object to the CBI raid at Monserrate's house. The Panaji MLA-who was the then chief minister- had rushed to Monserrate's residence at Taleigao even as the IT raid was on. Speaking to reporters at Monserrate's residence after the IT officials had left, Parrikar had threatened to withdraw consent to the CBI to operate in Goa. However, relations turned sour between the two in January 2005, which saw Monserrate being stripped of the town and country planning portfolio by Parrikar. This was followed by the subsequent demise of the BJP-led government. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Parrikar-wants-edu-min-sacked/articleshow/7853763.cms * * * Goa Minister found carrying 50 crores in cash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFZpStWVgtE&feature=player_embedded#at=21 * * * Civic poll, a proxy assembly fight? Andrew Pereira, TNN, Mar 13, 2011, 01.00am IST PANAJI: The intention to contest the next assembly elections from Panaji by Taleigao MLA Atanasio 'Babush' Monserrate has given a new dimension to the elections to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP). And the strategies adopted to defeat him in the civic polls have turned this election into a potboiler. In the fray are two party-backed panels, a mix of independents and a couple of citizens' groups chanting the anti-Monserrate slogan. In fact, the delimitation of the Panaji constituency has increased the stakes for control over the CCP, as both Monserrate and Panaji MLA Manohar Parrikar have tirelessly canvassed in the city's wards, with the Taleigao MLA being accused of inducing voters with gifts. So why is Monserrate keen to contest in Panaji, anyway? "As per the delimitation of assembly constituencies, three CCP wards from my constituency of Taleigao and two wards in Ribandar will now be part of the Panaji constituency. So, it does make sense for me to give it a try," the state education minister told TOI. While Panaji's electorate for the 2007 assembly elections stood at around 16,000 voters, after the delimitation of constituencies, around 2,600 voters from Taleigao and over 3,000 voters from Ribandar will enter the constituency, swelling the electorate to 21,600 voters. Panaji MLA Manohar Parrikar counters Monserrate's statement saying a significant percentage of the new votes coming into the constituency are for the BJP. To give one a perspective on Panaji's recent political history, Parrikar has won the seat for four consecutive terms since 1994. While he won quite comfortably in 1994 and 1999, he defeated then Panjim Municipal Council chairperson Ramesh Silimkhan in the 2002 assembly polls by 1,300 votes. The bigger battle, however, was in 2007, when he beat Dinar Tarcar by a 1,500-vote margin. Incidentally, the former chief minister received a large helping from Monserrate in the 2007 election, where sources say, many of the Taleigao MLA's councillors did not work for Tarcar in the capital city. Monserrate, incidentally, also served in Parrikar's cabinet as town and country planning minister from June 2002 to February 2005. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-13/goa/28685616_1_panaji-assembly-seat-ccp-elections-panaji-constituency