Padma Mohanty
Panaji: Dipak Pawaskar’s swearing-in ceremony was not attended by many ministers, even not by BJP ministers. Dipak Pawaskar was initiated into the state cabinet hours after he quitted the MGP (Maharahstrawadi Gomantak Party) and joined BJP on Wednesday.
Dipak Pawaskar and Manohar Aigaonkar were previously the MLA’s of MGP, both of them left the regional Party and joined the BJP in the early hours of Wednesday. The oath of office and secrecy to Pawaskar was administered by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha which was held at the Raj Bhavan around 11:35pm in presence of the Goa CM. As per a senior government officials the swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for Wednesday morning, but could not take place because the Governor Ms Sinha was in New Delhi. Ms Sinha had shortened her New Delhi trip and arrived at Goa in the evening to administer the oath.
Pawaskar and Ajgaonkar, after they splitted from the MGP, formed their own legislature wing and merged it with the BJP. Early on Wednesday, Mr. Ajgaonkar and Mr. Pawaskar gave a letter to officiating Speaker Michael Lobo, merging their party’s (MGP) legislative wing with the BJP. The MGP is now left with only one legislator – Sudin Dhavalikar – after the split. Mr. Dhavalikar, who was the deputy chief minister, was eliminated from the cabinet after the early Wednesday developments.
Reasons Goa CM gave about the removal of Sudin Dhavalikar from the Cabinet
Involvement in Anti-Alliance Activity was the reason given by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for the removal of Sudin Dhavalikar from the Cabinet. Speaking to the reporters he said, “Mr. Dhavalikar has been dropped from the ministry. He is doing anti activity against whatever tie up we did, but we are in the alliance government. His brother Deepak Dhavalikar is contesting in Shiroda. Again and again we requested him but he is not ready to listen so we took the decision. Already there two members had willingly merged into our party so we have decided to drop him.”
In the swearing in ceremony of Mr. Pawakar, except Nilesh Cabral, Govind Gawade and Ajgaonkar, no other ministers from the Goa Cabinet were present. Gawade is an Independent legislator who is the culture minister, while BJP leader Cabral holds the law portfolio and Ajgaonkar is the tourism minister in the Goa government. The portfolios that Dhavalikar was managing that is transport and public works will now be looked after by Chief Minister Sawant.
On Wednesday, Goa Forward Party (GFP) President and Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai had told that the chief minister should specify the future political roadmap of the current government. “If this (defection from coalition partners) continues, then we will lose sympathy and it will create suspicion among coalition partners. Such incidents in future will result in lack of public goodwill, the CM heads this (government) and he knows the contours of his alliance. I think he will very soon clarify on the future political road map of this coalition government.” He also said he had conveyed his concern to the chief minister as well as the BJP’s state leadership following Wednesday’s developments. Sardesai has a call on over a group of six MLAs, including three from his own party and three Independents. The support of these legislators’ is very important for BJP. Following the joining of the two MGP MLAs, the BJP now has 14 members in the 40-member Goa assembly.
Pawaskar is currently Chairman of state-run ‘Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation’.
