Goa: Aleixo Sequeira sworn in as pro-term Speaker

Panaji, June 11: Senior Congress legislator Aleixo Sequeira was today sworn in as pro-term speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly.

Governor S C Jamir administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Sequeira at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and others.

The new legislators of the 40-member House are likely to be administered the oath on June 15, followed by the cabinet expansion, Mr Kamat told sources.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister is leaving for New Delhi today to call on the Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and other members of the party High Command during his first courtesy call after he assumed the office on June 8.

He will also call on the Central ministers to discuss various developmental programmes and schemes associated with Goa and the ways of implementing the party manifesto.

Informatively, GPCC President Ravi S Naik, who was sworn-in as minister on June 8 along with two others, had left for Delhi yesterday to confer with the high command as to what went wrong in not selecting him for the chief minister's post at the last minute.

Former chief minister Pratapsinh Rane and Mr Naik were the strong contenders for the coveted post, but Mr Kamat emerged as the dark horse with the two-member MGP group and an open supporter Viswajit Rane (independent), son of Mr Rane.

UNI