the goan I network
MAPUSA
Stating that party’s interest was paramount, Urban Development Minister and Mapusa MLA, Francis D’Souza said that it was for the government and the party leadership to decide about his status in the government.
“Whatever is good for the party, they should do it. Anyone who becomes the new chief minister will decide. I cannot really force myself. I am out of the country and that’s a fact,” D’Souza told The Goan on a whatsapp call from the US on Sunday.
D’Souza reacted after it was brought to his attention that along with Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar, there were chances that he, too, may also be dropped from the cabinet.
He said that he was not in touch with anyone, politically, except a few of his close friends and well-wishers in the state.
The Mapusa MLA also said that he was not incapacitated and has been responding well to the treatment in the United States.
“I came to the hospital in a wheelchair but now I am walking. I am recovering and doing well. There’s no reason that I will be incapacitated,” he said.
D’Souza’s emphasis on his health assumes significance at a time when the BJP-led coalition government has been grappling with the issue of leadership change.
The minister also wished Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar well and hoped that he recovered fast.
He said that he met Parrikar a couple of times in the hospital in US and he found him in fine fettle.
“I met him a couple of times in the waiting room of the same hospital where we both were taking treatment and spoke to him. He sounded good,” he said.
The Mapusa MLA said that he wished Parrikar good health and a speedy recovery.
“I have a personal relationship with him. We studied together. He is the one who brought me into the BJP. Whatever I have achieved today is because of the party,” he concluded.
