Two ministers have been dropped from Manohar Parrikar’s cabinet in Goa, the chief minister's office (CMO) said Monday, 24 September.
BJP's Francis D'Souza and Pandurang Madkaikar have been ailing for some time and are admitted at hospitals.
The development comes at a time when Chief Minister Parrikar is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
D'Souza, who was heading the urban development department, and Madkaikar, who was the power minister, have been dropped from the cabinet, according to an official in the CMO.
Two BJP leaders — Nilesh Cabral and Milind Naik — will be sworn in as ministers on Monday evening, the official told PTI.
Clearing all doubts, BJP Chief Amit Shah on Sunday, 23 September, announced that despite his ailing health condition, Manohar Parrikar would continue as Goa chief minister.
However, he also said that there would be changes made in his council of ministers, which would be announced soon.
"It has been decided during a discussion with the Goa BJP core team that Manohar Parrikar will continue to lead the Goa government. There will soon be a reshuffle of ministers and their portfolios," Shah tweeted.
According to Shah, the decision to have Parrikar continue as the chief minister was taken after a core meeting between BJP leaders.
Shah’s statement came a few days after the Opposition Congress, which is the single-largest party with 16 MLAs, had staked claim to form the government in the coastal state.
The Congress had claimed that it had the support of over 21 legislators in the 40-member Assembly, giving it enough strength to form the government in the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
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