TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Fifty-eight-year old, Laxmikant Parsekar, with strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh links, took oath as the 22nd Chief Minister of Goa, at the swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. He is the 12th person to hold the post, and succeeds Manohar Parrikar, who now moves to New Delhi to be part of the Narendra Modi Cabinet, Sunday. A nine-member team comprising BJP and MGP legislators was also administered the oath of office by Governor Mridula Sinha.
Independent MLA Avertano Furtado, who held the Fisheries portfolio in the outgoing Manohar Parrikar Cabinet was the only one who did not figure in the new Cabinet.
Francis D’Souza, Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar, Dayanand Mandrekar, Ramesh Tawadkar, Mahadev Naik, Dilip Parulekar, Milind Naik, Pandurang Deepak Dhavalikar and Alina Saldanha were administered the oath of office and secrecy in the new Cabinet in the presence of Central party observers MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy and B S Yeddyurappa and former CM Manohar Parrikar.
Speaking to media after being sworn-in, Parsekar said that during his tenure all decisions would be taken by the team of ministers through consensus. “All my ministers will sit together and take unanimous decisions on the issues. My team will take decisions on all issues together and not me alone,” he said.
“This is not a government which has been formed after election. This is in fact a continuation of the former government. Our leader had to go to Centre which is why the vacancy arose. Whatever schemes were launched by our government in past, will continue. We will continue to give clean governance, development and social schemes initiated by Parrikar-led government will be implemented at the same pace,” Parsekar said before he left to board a flight for Delhi to attend Parrikar’s swearing-in at New Delhi on Sunday. The Union Cabinet is expected to be expanded on Sunday around 1 pm.
The portfolios of each of the ministers sworn-in on Saturday will be finalized when Parrikar returns to Goa on November 13-14. “While distributing the portfolios, I have requested Parrikar, who will by then be a Union Minister, to assist us,” the new CM said.
Parsekar said his visit to Delhi would also be to ‘seek the blessings’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national party President Amit Shah.
