PANAJI: Making a startling revelation, former PWD minister Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar claimed on Monday that he was offered the post of chief minister by the Congress and the BJP at different times on the precondition of merger of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party into their parties.
Dhavalikar, who is MGP’s chief ministerial candidate, said that he declined the offers from both the parties to protect MGP’s identity.
Addressing a press conference here to announce the induction of former Independent legislator from Bicholim Naresh Sawal into the MGP, Dhavalikar said that he was twice offered the post of chief minister by both the parties – Congress in 2005 and BJP in 2012. But he had to reject the offers because they insisted on merger of the regional party, which was unacceptable.
“The then chief minister Manohar Parrikar told me to merge the MGP in the BJP and become BJP CM. I rejected the offer over the precondition. I could have become chief minister but decided against just only to protect the identity of Goa’s first ruling party. The party made my political career, and if such offers had been accepted then it could have affected the party in long run,” Dhavalikar said.
Promising to give young cabinet ministers to the state if the MGP comes to power, Dhavalikar said, “We have decided on 22 candidates. They are in the age group of 44 to 55. I will give young cabinet to Goa. Goa needs a young brigade,” he said, adding that he would retire at the age of 70.
Sawal, who joined the MGP to contest the assembly elections from the Bicholim constituency, said that there was future in the MGP because the Congress and the BJP are two sides of the same coin.
He said the BJP government has been accused of extending patronage to the mining industry because BJP leaders clinched a secret deal running into Rs 1450 crore with mine owners to run the government.
“The BJP government is not bothered about mining workers, and they are only concerned about welfare of mine owners,” Sawal said pointing out that there must be no worker in the state who has not protested on the street against the government.
The government has pushed the state into a debt trap of Rs 20000 crore, which has risen from Rs 7000 crore in the last five years. To run the daily affairs of the government, about Rs 300 crore of loans were taken annually, he alleged.
Sawal had defeated the BJP candidate in a triangular fight in the March 2012 assembly elections and had joined hands with Opposition members to raise issues against the BJP-MGP alliance government.
The MGP will contest the assembly polls in alliance with the Goa Suraksha Manch and the Shiv Sena.