BJP's Manohar Parrikar sworn in as Goa CM, trust vote on Thursday
Parrikar, who gave up his Cabinet post of Defence Minister yesterday, took oath along with 9 BJP MLAs.
Panaji: Former Defence Minister and BJP leader Manohar Parrikar was on Tuesday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Goa.
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha administered Parrikar the oath, along with 9 MLAs.
Sudin Dhavalikar of the MGP and Goa Forward’s Vijai Sardesai took oath after Parrikar.
MGP's Manohar Ajgaonkar and Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte also took oath as Cabinet ministers.
BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari attended Parrikar’s swearing in ceremony.
Former CM Laxmikant Parsekar was also present at Parrikar's swearing in.
Gadkari is said to be responsible for bringing allies into the BJP fold in Goa, to enable the saffron party to reach the magic number of 21 in the Goa Assembly, after it won just 13 seats in the state elections.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which had left the BJP alliance in Goa last year, had demanded that Parrikar be appointed the CM if it was to rejoin the alliance. The demand was accepted by the BJP top brass.
Apart from the MGP, the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and 3 Independents have also supported BJP in Goa.
Parrikar will have to prove his majority in the House by Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in response to a Congress petition. Consequently, the vote of confidence will take place in the Goa Assembly at 11 am on Thursday.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Parrikar hit out at the Congress. "If you had the support, then why did you not go to the Governor?" he asked the Congress.
“I agree the mandate is fractured, but with 22 MLAs together the vote share is more than sufficient. It’s a post-poll alliance,” Parrikar added.
Claiming that no MLA wanted to support Congress, Parrikar said that the alliance had been formed only for the development of Goa.
The BJP's claim to form a government in Goa has resulted in a tug of war between the saffron party and the Congress, which emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats.
The Congress approached the Supreme Court on Monday against Parrikar's appointment as the Goa CM by the Governor. It has labelled the BJP staking claim in Goa and Manipur as 'murder of democracy', an allegation strongly refuted by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley through a blog post on Tuesday.