PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday afternoon, he tweeted but did not say what transpired at the meeting.
Earlier in the day, Sawant who left for the national capital on Sunday, setting off speculation of a possible change in leadership ahead of the upcoming general election due in February-March next year, also met Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda to pursue the three-decades old demand for inclusion of the Dhangar community in the Central list of Scheduled Tribes.
Dhangars who normally live in forest areas and in remote hinterland hamlets are shepherds rearing goats and other milch animals and have been demanding inclusion in the Central ST list for over three decades.
Sawant was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar, Speaker Rajesh Patnekar, Social Welfare Minister Milind Naik, PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar and Rajya Sabha MP, Vinay Tendulkar.
The Goa delegation led by Sawant also had a meeting with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and his Minister of State Vijay Kumar Singh, and reviewed several ongoing highway projects.
New projects were also pursued in the meeting with Gadkari, apparently aimed at earning brownie points ahead of the 2022 assembly polls.
Sawant also met Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of Information Technology and discussed the implementation of Bharat Net Fiber Project in Goa.
Meanwhile, a MoU was signed with the Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd in presence of Sawant and Union Minister of Coal & Mines Pralhad Joshi, to assess the mineral resources in Goa by conducting geo-scientific exploration and to establish the State’s mineral inventory.
Interestingly, when Sawant suddenly left for Delhi on Sunday, it triggered speculation of a possible change in leadership on the backdrop of the recent public utterances of Union Minister of State Shripad Naik of his desire to re-launch himself in State politics.
