Goa minister Milind Naik resigns hours after Congress accuses him of sexual exploitation

Goa Minister for Urban Development Milind Naik on Wednesday resigned from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s Cabinet, reported PTI. The minister’s exit could be detrimental to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.

The resignation came hours after the Congress alleged that Naik had sexually exploited a young woman from Bihar.

The Congress Goa unit chief, Girish Chodankar, had first on November 30 accused a minister in Sawant’s Cabinet of sexual misconduct while in office. Chodankar also claimed that there was a recording in which Naik could be heard speaking to the woman and coercing her to go through an abortion, reported the Hindustan Times.

Last month, Chodankar gave 15 days to the state government to take action against the minister.

The Goa chief minister responded to the allegations last week saying that he would take action if the woman involved in the sexual exploitation filed a complaint or if the Congress named the minister involved, according to The Times of India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit chief, Sadanand Shet Tanavade, had also challenged the Congress leader to name the minister, and promised to take action against him.

At a press conference in Panaji city on Wednesday, the Congress named Naik saying that he should be fired and again called for action…

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