Former owner of Club Titos, one of the top nightclubs in Goa and an aspirant for a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket for Goa assembly election ticket, Ricardo D'Souza, wants all MLAs to take a lie detector test to prove they have not taken bribes in public life.
D'Souza, who was speaking to reporters late on Tuesday after meeting BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, said that he stood firm by his poll promise of providing one apartment to every family in the assembly constituency of Calangute in North Goa, from where the former nightclub owner is keen on contesting.
When asked about the issue of corruption in politics, D'Souza said that all legislators should be subject to a lie detector test to prove that they were not involved in graft.
"Let the universe and God judge who has taken the money. If you want (to do it) the legal way, we can bring a lie detector test. Put all the MLAs hand on the lie detector, ask them have you taken money as a bribe... Why don't they do it?" D'Souza said.
"There is technology. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has it (lie detectors). Get them, put them to a (lie detector test) and let us see who has robbed," D'Souza said.
D'Souza had made a splash in June this year, after he publicly announced that he was forced to sell off one of the state's most popular nightclubs, Club Tito's, and other businesses in Goa, due to harassment by government officials, politicians and NGOs.
D'Souza has also had a running feud with Michael Lobo, Ports Minister and a sitting MLA from the prestigious Calangute assembly constituency. While both have maintained that they have friendly relations with each other, D'Souza claims that Lobo "would not win the next election".
D'Souza said that he is an aspirant for a BJP ticket in the upcoming 2022 polls, he also said that he had received offers from several other parties to contest from Calangute.
"All options are on the table. Every party has approached me. Every party. AAP (Aam Aadmi Party), Congress, NCP (Nationalist Congress Party). You must have seen my photos with various leaders. It is up to the universe to guide us all," D'Souza said.
D'Souza also stuck to a poll promise he had made to the people of Calangute recently, which involved providing one apartment to every resident of Calangute.
"My heart is in the right place. I am here to change things. I am here to give one free apartment to every family in Calangute. I have explained how. Slum rehabilitation in Mumbai, look at it. It is not rocket science. It can happen, it will happen if I am elected," D'Souza said.
