PANAJI
Former minister Somnath Juwarkar (73) breathed his last late on Tuesday night.
Zuwarkar was elected legislator of Taleigao thrice in 1989, 1994 and 1999 sponsored by the Congress and had been part of the State cabinet multiple times.
He also served as Sarpanch of Taleigao for several years before being elected as MLA for the first time in 1989.
He first became minister in the short-lived Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) government when a group of MLAs led by Luis Proto Barbosa split from the Congress and joined hands with the then Opposition MGP.
Later, he returned to the State cabinet again in the Pratapsing Rane cabinet in 1994 days after his controversial role as Protem Speaker in the conduct of the infamous Tomazinho Cardozo versus Surendra Sirsat Speaker's election.
He again was a minister in two other short-lived cabinets of Luizinho Faleiro (1998) and Francisco Sardinha (2000).
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Opposition Leader Digambar Kamat were among several political leaders who condoled the death of Juwarkar.
