Kamat laughs off queries on minister’s ‘partner’ death

PANAJI - Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat Tuesday shocked journalists when he burst into a sudden fit of laughter when asked to comment on the mysterious death of Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco’s alleged ‘partner’ due to poisoning.

“I have read about it in the newspapers. You all know everything, then why are you asking me,” Kamat said before breaking into peals of laughter to the shock of the journalists present in the conference room at the chief minister’s official residence.

On a day when nearly every regional newspaper in the state carried lead stories linking Pacheco to the mysterious death of his alleged lover Nadia Torrado, Kamat said that “no one has said (spoken) directly” to him about the issue.

During the press conference, the chief minister continued to dodge queries on whether he was contemplating action against Pacheco, who before the latest controversy, was booked in four separate offences ranging from extortion to bigamy and assaulting government servants.

When the media persons persisted with their queries on the death of Nadia, Kamat said: “I had received a fax from a women’s organisation”.

But when the media persons asked for the content of the complaint sent by the women’s right organisation, Kamat said: “I have not gone through it yet”.

Kamat was in the news recently for his sexist comment on the women’s reservation bill, which is being actively pursued by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

“If women start pursuing politics, it will have a negative impact on society,” Kamat had said at a function May 22. He had also made snide remarks at the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s landmark women’s quota bill that seeks to reserve 33 percent of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies for women.

“Don’t fall for 33 percent reservation (in politics). Politics makes you go crazy. Women play an important role in transforming the society. We should look after our next generation,” Kamat had said, commenting on the legislation, which, according to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was the dream of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Two days after his public statement, Kamat claimed that he had been misquoted in the media.

–Indo Asian News Service