An Aam Aadmi Party delegation on Wednesday met Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai in connection with the government jobs money scam and demanded a stay on the recruitment process till a judicial commission conducts an inquiry. The Goa police have so far arrested 18 people in connection with the scam.

On Tuesday, the Ponda police detained a woman worker of the ruling BJP for allegedly duping people on the pretext of offering government jobs. The AAP delegation comprising Goa unit president Amit Palekar, party MLAs Venzy Viegas, Cruz Silva and others met the governor. Later, speaking to reporters outside the Raj Bhavan, Palekar said the party has demanded that all ongoing recruitments in the government service be suspended until a judicial commission conducts an inquiry.

“There should also be an inquiry into previous recruitments, including those for the posts of police sub-inspectors,” he said. The delegation told the governor that this kind of scam is not possible without the involvement of government level people, the AAP leader said.

Some BJP stalwarts were also arrested for duping people on the pretext of giving them government jobs, he said, adding, “But the BJP has now distanced itself from these accused. They systematically give explanations that they resigned before. the scam has taken place.”

Palekar claimed to have raised the issue of the cash-for-jobs scam for the past eight months. “Everything I said is being exposed now that the victims have started coming forward,” he said.