Panaji, Oct 7 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday alleged that several senior Congress leaders, including Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, were beneficiaries of a Rs.25,000 crore illegal mining scam over the last two years.


Kirit Somaiya, BJP national secretary, added that a senior Congress leader from the party headquarters in New Delhi was also involved in the scam.

"This is the biggest illegal mining scam in India at Rs.25,000 crore in just two years. Like the 2G scam, the scam money is being routed through companies set up in tax havens like Mauritius and Cayman islands," Somaiya, a former BJP MP, said.

"The scam does not end at Digambar Kamat. A person in the Congress headquarters at New Delhi is also involved in the Rs.25,000 crore mining scam," Somaiya said.

Besides implicating Kamat, who has been Goa's mine minister for over a decade, Somaiya named several other leaders and state ministers.

The BJP leader said the party would be handing over the evidence collected by the party to the chief vigilance commissioner, Comptroller Auditor General and also file a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"We are demanding the setting up of a specially formed Special Investigation Team (SIT) under a high court judge to probe the scam within 15 days, failing which we might go to the judiciary seeking the same," Somaiya said.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the scam was not tabled in the house Friday, the last day of the session, prompting a furious opposition to walk out.