Goa: BJP ministers D’Souza, Madkaikar dropped from Parrikar cabinet 

Two senior ministers have been dropped from the Manohar Parrikar cabinet in Goa, the chief minister's office said Monday, September 24.

Urban Dev Minister Francis D’Souza and Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar, both Bharatiya Janata Party ministers in the coalition government, have been ailing for some time and are admitted at hospitals.

The development comes at a time when Chief Minister Parrikar is himself undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

D'Souza is currently admitted at a hospital in the USA, while Madkaikar, who had suffered a brain stroke in June, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai.

Two BJP leaders—Nilesh Cabral and Milind Naik—will be sworn in as ministers Monday evening, the official said.

Naik was the power minister in the previous Laxmikant Parsekar-led cabinet, while Cabral would be sworn in for the first time.

BJP president Amit Shah had said Sunday that Parrikar would continue in his post and announced that a reshuffle of the state's ministers would soon take place. Goa Congress President Girish Chodankar subsequently alleged that top BJP leaders including Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "no courage" to ask ailing Manohar Parrikar to step down as Chief Minister of Goa, because Parrikar, a former Defence Minister, had a lot of information about the Rafale deal.

With PTI inputs

Also Read

Congress says Shah, Modi can’t make Parrikar resign, fearing Rafale exposure