Goa Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Nilesh Cabral on Sunday tendered his resignation from the Cabinet led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. The move paves the way for the induction of MLA Alexo Sequeira, one of the eight MLAs who switched allegiance from the opposition Congress to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state last year. In his resignation letter addressed to Chief Minister Sawant, Cabral said he was stepping down to enable the party to fulfill its already made commitments, news agency PTI reported.
Chief Minister Sawant confirmed the resignation and said that it has been sent to Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai for approval. He stressed that the decision for Cabral to step down was taken by the party in order to include another lawmaker in the cabinet.
The Chief Minister told PTI that MLA Alexo Sequeira will be inducted into the cabinet at 7 pm on Sunday. BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral, 51, representing Curchoram assembly constituency, took charge of PWD, Law and Judiciary and other portfolios in the Sawant-led cabinet.
In his resignation letter, Cabral said with a heavy heart that he would be stepping down from the respected post of Public Works Department Minister as well as the Environment, Legislative Affairs and Law and Judiciary departments. “As requested by you and senior members of the party, due to the commitments made by you earlier, I tender my resignation from your cabinet,” the letter was quoted by PTI as saying.
Speaking to ANI about his decision to step down, the BJP leader stressed that his decision was taken “under compulsion”.
“BJP had given commitment to some Congress MLAs, who had joined BJP. When these people merged with BJP, senior leaders had given commitment. I was called by senior leaders and they requested that you Maintain the commitment, I will make sacrifices. When senior and powerful leaders of BJP are giving statements, I do not understand why I should not listen to it. Therefore, based on their request, I have resigned. I am a senior leader of BJP, there is no reason for this. There is no doubt about my seniority. I am sure the party must have something in mind and in the interest of the party they have asked me to resign,” he said.
Raj Bhavan confirmed the induction of a new minister at 7 pm on Sunday. When contacted, 66-year-old Alexo Sequeira confirmed his upcoming inclusion in the cabinet.
Acknowledging Cabral’s contribution, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “I commend Nilesh Cabral for taking this decision. He has made significant contributions to the party and the government. This change is part of the party’s strategy to give opportunities to all MLAs.” Is.”
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