The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has managed to contain dissent in most areas in the run-up to the Goa assembly polls scheduled for February 14, but four seats, including the prestigious Panaji constituency, continue to be a cause for worry.
After being ticked off by the Supreme Court-appointed Centrally Empowered Committee over "erroneous and incomplete data" on mining, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has sought to deflect the blame on erstwhile Congress regime for the "mess-up".
A 36-year-old conman, who allegedly duped Congress Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Vijay Darda of Rs 34 lakh by posing as former Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat, has been arrested, police said on Friday. The accused, Digambar alias Balasaheb Khaire Patil, was arrested from Solapur.
The complaint, to be registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of vigilance department, indirectly refers to Kamat, who was also the mines minister, as it will book former mines and geology department director Arvind Lolienkar, his superiors and subordinates for alleged illegal recruitment in the department, in December last year.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
He further stated that if the Nigerians come to India to study then the state government and the police should keep a strict watch on them.
Former Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat, who was indicted by Justice M B Shah Commission in its report on illegal mining in the state, on Friday said the commission never asked him to present his side of the story. "I was never called for any inquiry or justification by the Shah Commission. Whatever is interpreted by the Commission in the report should be verified by the state government," Kamat said, reacting to the report for the first time.
Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat on Monday said that the opposition to the offshore casino vessels would subside once they are shifted away from the public sight.
Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat, who earned the ire of Congress colleagues for his statement calling Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi his 'best friend', on Saturday said the remark was taken out of context and expressed his commitment to secularism. "My statement has been taken out of context solely to create media and political hype," Kamat, who left the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2005 and joined the Congress, said, seeking to put a lid on the controversy over his remark.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
The swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers would take place at the Raj Bhavan in Shimla on January 8 at 10 am, the sources said on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by 26 participants including Chief Ministers and Lt Governors of UTs, he said while briefing the media.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who earlier on Thursday apologised for the use of word `negro' in a written reply in the legislative assembly, accused that senior journalist Tarun Tejpal might be behind the coverage of the issue.
Suella Braverman, an Indian-origin barrister, was appointed as the UK's new Home Secretary by Prime Minister Liz Truss earlier this week
Five Congress legislators, who have been lobbying against Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat, have decided to meet assembly Speaker Pratapsingh Rane to urge him to take charge of the top post, sources close to them said on Wednesday. The legislators are backed by a group of seven legislators including three from the Nationalist Congress Party, two from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, one from the United Goans Democratic party and an independent, they said.
Poor governance and mediocre short-sighted politics are destroying the paradise that Goa was as its environment, water table, culture and way of life is drastically threatened by tourism and migration, points out Ramesh Menon.
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday said some people are born with disabilities due to the "mistake" and "negligence" committed by god.
Louis Berger officials had allegedly paid Rs 50-60 lakh each as bribe to former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and the then Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao.
A retired senior bureaucrat has alleged former Goa Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane used "fake documents" to push for statehood to the then Union Territory way back in 1987, a charged rubbished by the latter.
Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat has termed his Gujarat counterpart and firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi as his 'best friend'. During a press briefing, Kamat said Modi was his 'best friend' and added that he will visit Gujarat if the state government invites him. "When I am in Delhi for any conference, I have Sheila Dikshit on one side and Narendra Modi on the other. He is my best friend," Kamat, who was earlier in the BJP, told media persons.
Thackeray also condemned the collapse of a girder of an overbridge which was being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway in Chiplun city on Monday.
"I have not asked for it. Also, Manohar Parrikar has not asked for it," the AYUSH minister said when asked about Gadkari's remarks.
Technocrat-turned-politician, Manohar Parrikar, set to become Goa chief minister for the third time, is known for his clean image, blunt talk and development initiatives.
He also alleged that Dalit MLAs, minister or councillors of the AAP were not given any respect.
Bowing to pressure from within the Bharatiya Janata Party against the United States-based Playboy club's move to open its facility in the coastal state, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said the application would not be considered by his government on "technical grounds".
The assembly polls are seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday that half the government officials in the state administration would go behind bars if the "scams committed during the former Congress-led government" were to be investigated.
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday denied having made the alleged remarks on the complexion of nurses protesting in the state and said he was misquoted.
'It is a beautiful portrait of Ek Bharat, Sreshth Bharat.'
Subhash Velingkar floated a new party in Goa and vowed to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the coming assembly polls
The Congress has accused the two MLAs of hobnobbing with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to bring about a split in the opposition party.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
Both Parrikar and the main opposition, Congress, have been claiming the support of 18 members of Legislative Assembly each in the house with an effective strength of 36.
'Across the political spectrum, especially from the side of the NDA itself, there is complete disillusionment (with the way the BJP is treating its allies).' 'This leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.'
The Goa police team reached Sangwan's residence on Sunday and made some enquiries there before leaving for Gurugram to conduct further investigation, sources said.
The minister said his target is to complete Mumbai-Goa highway by 2018
The Goa CM knows running a coalition government while pursuing a development agenda will require a fine balancing act.
Parrikar, who is suffering from pancreatic ailment, presented a revenue surplus state budget sitting on his chair in the state assembly, with a tube inserted through his nose.
According to sources, the Goa Congress unit has not held a single meeting after it failed to reach the majority mark of 21 in the 40-member assembly.
Former Goa chief minister Churchill Alemao on Saturday resigned from the Congress to contest as an independent candidate from the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, protesting the denial of a party ticket to his daughter Valanka.
