Panaji | Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has asked four ministers- three from ally Goa Forward Party and one Independent MLA before a reshuffle.
A notification to this effect was issued in the afternoon.
According to the notification, the four ministers — Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai, Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar, Rural Development Minister Jayesh Salgaonkar (all GFP MLAs) and Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte (Independent) — were dropped from the cabinet.
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“I have directed four ministers, three from the GFP and one Independent minister to resign as ministers as directed by the party High Command,” the Goa Chief Minister told reporters in Delhi.
They would be replaced with Michael Lobo, who resigned as Deputy Speaker of Assembly earlier in the day, and three of the 10 MLAs, who switched over to the BJP from the Congress on Wednesday.
Lobo said apart from him, Chandrakant Kavlekar, Jeniffer Monserratte and Philip Nery Rodrigues would be a part of the new cabinet.
Lobo said, “Atanasio Monserratte refused to take up the ministerial berth and instead requested the chief minister to make his wife a part of the cabinet.”
The GFP claimed they have not received any notification from BJP’s top ranks.
“The GFP is part of the NDA and had joined the BJP-led state government after talks with the national leadership of the BJP. The present state BJP leaders were not part of the discussions then. We will take appropriate steps after talking with the central NDA leadership…we have received indications that the matter will be sorted out amicably,” the party said in a statement.
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