Goa government reshuffle: 2 ministers dropped from Manohar Parrikar's cabinet

According to sources, the two new members will be inducted in the Cabinet today.

IANS photo

PANAJI: Two ministers have been dropped from Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's cabinet in Goa, informed the Chief Minister's Office on Monday morning. 

According to reports, ministers Francis D'Souza and Pandurang Madkaikar have been asked to step down. This is yet to be confirmed by the CMO. Nilesh Cabral and Milind Naik are likely to be inducted as new cabinet ministers, added sources.  

BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday had informed that a reshuffle in the state cabinet will take place soon. He also dismissed speculations of ailing Parrikar's replacement.

Parrikar is admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi with a pancreatic ailment, and the Congress has been pitching for a floor test in the Goa Legislative Assembly.

Earlier, the Congress alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah did not seek Parrikar's resignation as he had information on the Rafale deal he could use to 'blackmail' them.

''I am sure Manohar Parrikar must be having a lot of information about the Rafale deal as he was the Union Defence Minister at that time,'' Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar said.

In the 40-member state assembly, the Parrikar government has the support of 23 MLAs.

The BJP has 14 MLAs against 16 of the Congress, and Parrikar's appeal was a key reason it secured support from a cross-section of legislators following last year elections.

With agency inputs