Goa Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude was on Wednesday dropped from the state cabinet, almost a month after he alleged corruption in the tribal welfare department
Goa Minister Govind Gaude. (File)
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday dropped state’s Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude from the state cabinet nearly three weeks after he levelled corruption allegations in the Department of Tribal Welfare — a portfolio held by Chief Minister.
Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai accepted the recommendation by the Chief Minister of dropping the minister from the state’s cabinet, following which Gaude ceased to be a member of the council of ministers with immediate effect.
BJP Goa unit president Damodar Naik confirmed to news agency PTI that Gaude was removed from the council of ministers. Naik, however, didn’t mention the official reason for sacking the minister.
“This is a decision of the state government,” he said.
Party sources said the decision to strip Gaude of his cabinet post was taken by the chief minister soon after the incident last month. The state leadership had been waiting for a nod from the central party leadership in Delhi.
What Gaude Said?
Addressing a state-level function on May 26, Gaude, who was also holding sports and rural development portfolios, had dubbed the state tribal welfare department inefficient and claimed its officers were taking bribes to sign files.
In his speech, Gaude said: “A large amount of taxpayers’ money is allotted to the Tribal Welfare department. If it is unable to organise this programme efficiently, then it shows a lack of control over the administration. In my opinion, the administration has weakened today. The files of contractors are handled under the Shram Shakti Bhavan (a government block) building on the sly. Something is taken from them, and then they are asked to submit their files.”
His remarks drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which warned of action.
Latching on to Gaude’s claims, Congress had demanded Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai sack the state government for “rampant corruption”.
The 53-year-old MLA from the Priol assembly segment in North Goa took oath in March 2022 after BJP won state elections. Gaude had also served as a minister in the Sawant-led cabinet from 2019 to 22.
(With inputs from agencies)
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
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