NEWS

Goa minister stripped of portfolio quits cabinet

By Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji
January 28, 2005

Babush Monserette, who was stripped of the town and country planning ministry by Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday, quit the cabinet on Friday morning.

"Right now I am with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. But politics has no permanent friends or enemies," he told reporters in the morning when asked if he would quit the party, too.

Babush has reportedly been planning for over a month now to topple the Parrikar government by quitting the party along with few party men and contest elections afresh.

The opposition Congress had reportedly supported him. However, the plan got postponed, as the tsunami tragedy had kept the Congress high command busy.

After getting elected as member of Legislative Assembly on a United Goans Democratic Party ticket three years ago, Monserette had joined the ruling BJP a little before the Anti-defection Act was amended.

The act now compels MLAs to resign and contest elections afresh if they desire to join another party.

Meanwhile, Micky Pacheco, who joined the ruling BJP on Thursday, merged his one-member party into the saffron brigade.

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

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