Water Resources Minister quits to join Congress

Panaji, Mar 19: Goa Water Resources Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, who is an independent MLA, today resigned from the Legislative Assembly so he could join the Congress.

Mr Rorigues has submitted his letter of resignation to the Speaker Francisco Sardinha. This paves the way for him to contest the Assembly on a Congress ticket to retain his Velim constituency.

He was formally admitted to the Congress party at a function held at the Congress House later.

Mr Rodrigues is scheduled to be sworn in at 1700hrs today as minister at Raj Bhavan, and will retain the same portfolio, according to sources.

A minister in the dismissed BJP government headed by Manohar Parrikar, Mr Rodrigues was reinstated as minister with the same portfolio by the Congress-led coalition government, headed by Pratapsingh Rane, last year following a High Court order.

He challenged the then Speaker Viswas Satarkar's order disqualifying him from the membership of the House on the ground that he took the membership of the BJP but continued to be an Independent MLA.

Mr Rodrigues, however, told the court the BJP office-bearers forged his signature in the admission form. A criminal case had also been registered against the BJP leaders in this regard.

Amid high drama, he was ordered to be physically removed from the House by Mr Satarkar but all the Congress legislators prevented the marshals from evicting him from the House by erecting a human wall around him.

BJP legislator Babu Azgaonkar had also quit the membership recently charging the BJP leadership with ''dictatorship.'' He joined the congress and was made the housing minister.

UNI