PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday stuck to his decision on allocation of additional portfolios to his cabinet ministers saying the additional portfolios will be allocated as per his decision taken last Friday and the notification will be issued during the course of the day.
The General Administration Department later issued the notification in the evening.
Sawant's unilateral decision on additional portfolios allocation had triggered murmurs of discontent among his cabinet colleagues after the list of portfolios allocated was reported in the media.
Vinoda Paliencar and Jayesh Salgaonkar, two of the three ministers belonging to ally Goa Forward Party of Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai, were said to be upset after Paliencar got no additional portfolio and Salgaonkar got awarded a minor portfolio “ the Department of Museums.
The other Deputy Chief Minister Manohar (Babu) Ajgaonkar was also reportedly upset over not being allocated the meaty Transport portfolio.
Ajgaonkar was reportedly promised the transport portfolio as a quid pro quo for his decision to merge with the BJP from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) along with PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar.
The portfolio was held for long by former Deputy Chief Minister Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavlikar who was unceremoniously dropped from the cabinet following the post-midnight merger coup executed by the Ajgaonkar-Pauskar duo.
On Monday, however, Ajgaonkar refuted reports of his disgruntlement.
“There is no complaint," Ajgaonkar said while speaking to the media post the cabinet meeting, adding that the CM will take a call on the issue and that all were happy.
Some other members of the cabinet also said that there was no discussion over the allocation of additional portfolios in Monday's meeting.
Fishing ban in force, but no dearth of fish entering Goa
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