A day after his conversation with party leaders about “having to make a sacrifice”, Goa Public Works Department Minister Nilesh Cabral resigned from the Pramod Sawant-led cabinet on Sunday to make way for the induction of MLA Aleixo Sequeira.
In his resignation letter to the chief minister, Cabral said he was stepping down to allow the party to fulfil its “commitments previously made.” Chief Minister Sawant told.
“Shri Nilesh Cabral has submitted his resignation from the Council of Ministers to the Hon’ble Chief Minister. Swearing-in of Shri Aleixo Sequeira in the cabinet is scheduled today at 7 pm at Raj Bhavan,” the chief minister’s office (CMO) said in a statement issued on Sunday morning.
This comes a day after Cabral told media that senior BJP leaders had spoken to him about making a “sacrifice” to accommodate one of the eight ‘turncoat’ MLAs who switched ships from the Congress to their party in September last year.
Cabral, a representative from the Curchorem Assembly constituency, also held the portfolios of Law and Judiciary, Environment and Climate Change, and Legislative Affairs.
Sequeira, who will be sworn in as a minister on Sunday at 7 pm, was among the eight MLAs who switched from the opposition Congress to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coastal state last year.
Upon being questioned about his resignation, Cabral said his decision to resign from his post was at the party’s behest and emphasised that he was not treated as a minority leader within the BJP, pointing out that such distinctions do not exist in the party.
With inputs from News18
The post Goa minister quits to accommodate ex-Cong MP first appeared on Latest India news, analysis and reports on IPA Newspack.
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