TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: While announcing that a mid-term review of his cabinet ministers’performance will be undertaken in September this year, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday ruled out any possibility of a cabinet reshuffle. This sets aside any speculations about the induction of new entrants into the ministry.
The Bharatiya Janata Party -led government, which was sworn in on March 9, 2012, will complete two and half years in power on September 9, 2014.
“I will review the performance of the cabinet ministers in September when I will complete two and half years in office. It’s a mid-term review of the government and is something I had promised to do,” Parrikar told reporters on Thursday.
This will be the second such review by the chief minister.
Parrikar had in July 2013 reviewed the performance of his ministers after which only minor portfolios of ministers being swapped. The minister, however, retained all major portfolios that were initially assigned. The chief minister, while retaining major portfolios like mining, home, finance, vigilance, agriculture, TCP, education had distributed most of his less important portfolios to his cabinet colleagues.
When asked whether he would have a cabinet reshuffle midway through the term, Parrikar said that it would be just a review of the cabinet.
“I had said that there would be review…this is just review of performance…nothing else,” he added.
Parrikar’s clarification might come as a major letdown to Parrikar’s Goa Vikas Party supporters Francisco Mickky Pacheco and to opposition legislators Mauvin Godinho, given that there were rumors that they would be inducted in the cabinet soon after Lok Sabha elections due to support extended by them.
