Team Herald

 

PANJIM: High-profile Shipping and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, sent to Goa as the Prime Minister’s point man to sort out Goa’s mining stoppage fallout crisis, also mined Goa’s fluid political landscape. 

Sources revealed that more than one alliance partner did not agree to Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar’s name being proposed as a possible CM, in the eventuality of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s treatment and recovery took longer. 

Another alliance partner threatened to pull out of the government if Dhavalikar was elevated. However, after Gadkari’s visit all this seems to have been laid to rest. Gadkari’s visit and meetings also appear to have been fairly successful in thwarting any threat to the coalition for now.

Gadkari first met BJP MLAs on his arrival on March 19, at 9.45 pm.

“The first thing Gadkari told the BJP MLAs is not to make any stray statements to the media and that there was no change in leadership as of now,” sources revealed. It is also learnt that the Deputy Speaker and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo was specifically told not to issue statements which would embarrass the government.

Sources further revealed that MGP was the first coalition partner to meet Gadkari. PWD Minister Dhavalikar, MGP president Deepak Dhavalikar and MLA Dipak Pauskar met the Union minister on behalf of the party.

Thereafter, he met Goa Forward leaders Vijai Sardesai and Suraj Lotlikar and later independents Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gaude.

“Of course, they did not meet only to speak on mining. Most of those who met Gadkari had nothing to do with mining at all,” sources said.

Further, sources revealed that Gadkari tried to calm down the coalition partners on the leadership change issue.

When asked for comments on the meeting, Deepak Dhavalikar said it had nothing to do with politics. “We just spoke of getting more funds from the Centre for development works,” he said. Deepak, sources reveal, is being economical with the full facts about the Gadkari meeting

Khaunte also said he had various issues pertaining to his department which Gadkari assured to look into.

On the other hand Sardesai said he spoke of various issues pertaining to his constituency like road widening, saving houses of locals and the sensitive issue of withdrawing the 'minimum educational qualification' condition required to obtain a continuous discharge certificate (CDC), a seafarer's identity document. 

Almost every family in many villages of Saclete has had at least one extended family member who has been or presently is a sea farer. “We did not speak on anything other than this,” he said.

Quite clearly, no one was willing to offer any information except the routine. But we know otherwise.