Parrikar assures communal harmony
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 24 October 2000 15:02 ISTReducing expenditure drastically and taking measures to generate revenue are the top priorities spelt out by Manohar Parrikar, the newly inducted first chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He has also assured to maintain the existing communal harmony in the tourist state, countering fear in this regard expressed by the opposition members.
Governor Mohammed Fazal today administered oath of secrecy to the jumbo cabinet of 14, including Pandurang Raut of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. All the eight members, admitted into the party from the Congress last week, have been made ministers.
While Ravi Naik, former opposition leader, has been made the deputy chief minister, Congressmen from splinter groups inducted as BJP ministers are former ministers Ramakant Khalap, Shaikh Hassan, Prakash Velip and Sanjay Bandekar as well as Babu Azgaonkar, Philip Neri Rodrigues and Jose Philip D'Souza – all new faces.
The old BJP guards are former ministers Digambar Kamat, Suresh Amonkar and Prakash Fadte while Ramrao Desai is the only first-time minister from the 'original' BJP. Even Parrikar, the chief minister, is holding the ministerial position for the first time in his political career.
Besides speaker Pratapsing Rane, outgoing chief minister Francisco Sardinha also attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. Subhash Velingkar, the local RSS general secretary, was the first person to greet Parrikar after the ceremony, besides the local representative of Archbishop Raul Gonsalves.
Parrikar, after the ceremony, told the journalists that he has been told by the governor not to prove his majority in the Assembly as he is satisfied that the BJP-led coalition government enjoys majority. He presently enjoys support of 26 in the 40-member House.
As a first step towards reducing expenditure of his jumbo cabinet, Parrikar said he has withdrawn all the Baleno Maruti cars while stating that they would not go beyond Maruti Esteem. Total expenditure on cabinet would also be reduced by 20 per cent from next fiscal year, he added.
Referring to four members from the Goan People's Congress, who split from Sardinha's group yesterday to support the BJP-led government, Parrikar said the party has not applied its mind on admitting them into the BJP.
