the goan I network
PANAJI
The Bharatiya Janata Party launched a fire-fighting effort after a storm in the ruling coalition kicked up by Power Minister Nilesh Cabral’s statement ruling out an alternative to the leadership of ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and attributing “personal interest” for the contrarian view expressed by his cabinet colleague and TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai.
“BJP is fully committed to ‘coalition dharma’ and mutual trust and respect to constituent parties therein,” a press release issued late on Saturday evening by Rajya Sabha MP and BJP State unit chief Vinay Tendulkar, said.
Tendulkar, who was also seated alongside Cabral when the latter addressed the media on Friday, also said in the press release that the news item attributed to the Power Minister stating that Sardesai’s views on a new CM is out of personal interest was “misleading”. Cabral on Friday had ruled out any alternative to Parrikar saying: “It is a statement from his (Sardesai) personal interest. I am speaking for the BJP party and BJP party has a leader... We have a leader in Parrikar and he will always be our leader.”
The Power Minister made the statement when media persons pointed out to him that Sardesai had said that the BJP is seriously looking at leadership alternatives to Parrikar after his discussions in Delhi with Amit Shah.
Cabral’s statement ruffled feathers in the ranks of the Goa Forward Party, the Sardesai-led alliance partner which has three MLAs who are all ministers in the coalition government.
Tendulkar’s press release, meanwhile, recalled Shah’s Thursday meetings with leaders of the two coalition partners -- Sardesai and PWD Minister Ramkrishna Dhavlikar -- regarding the current political situation in Goa.
“Shri Amit Shahji had separate meetings with the two leaders and discussed future strategy regarding stability of the government in the background of ill-health of CM Manohar Parrikar,” Tendulkar’s press release said.
“During the discussion the BJP chief has emphasized the need for co-operation amongst all the alliance partners including the supporting Independent MLAs, for smooth functioning and stability of Government for the development of the State,” Tendulkar’s press release adds.
