Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Panaji, Goa Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar was on Saturday sworn in as Chief Minister to succeed Manohar Parrikar who is becoming a Union Minister.
Parsekar took the oath of office and secrecy soon after the BJP succeeded in persuading Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza to accept his leadership.
And so, while Parsekar’s name was formally proposed by Parrikar, D’Souza seconded it at a meeting of party legislators. D’Souza had earlier said he would not serve in the government under anyone else, including Parsekar.
Parsekar will be Goa’s 11th Chief Minister.
His candidature was also endorsed by the BJP’s Parliamentary Board, party sources said.
Parrikar resigned from office after his elevation to the Union Cabinet, possibly as Defence Minister.
Earlier, Parrikar met Goa Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao and explained to him the reason for his departure from state politics.
Parrikar, during his third tenure as Chief Minister from 2012, had a good relationship with the influential Roman Catholic Church in Goa which subtly backed the BJP during the last Assembly polls.
Parrikar on Friday told reporters that he had been formally invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join his Central Cabinet and he had decided to accept the offer as a matter of “national interest” although he also said that he was extremely attached to Goa.
The outgoing Goa Chief Minister will be sworn in as Union Minister on Sunday and is likely to be offered the defence portfolio.
On Monday, he is expected to fly to Lucknow where he will file his nomination papers to book a passage to parliament through the Rajya Sabha. — Agencies
