Speaker says he has no ambition to become CM again

Panaji, Jan 16 (UNI) Goa Assembly Speaker Pratapsinh Rane today categorically rufuted reports about his ambition to become chief minister again.

''I have no such ambition and there is no need for me to adopt any backdoor efforts to become CM. I am happy as Speaker,'' Mr Rane told UNI.

Rumours were agog in the capital today that Mr Rane was trying to stage a comeback as chief minister in place of Digambar Kamat amid reports of a threat to the seven-month-old Kamat's government.

The NCP coalition partners had recently ruled out taking the ''drastic and extreme'' decision of withdrawing support to the government though they were not happy with the government for not offering plum portfolios of their choice besides adequate representation in the government.

The lone unattached legislator Mr Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, who expressed his desire to join the NCP along with Save Goa Front legislator Alexieo Reginald, however, told mediapersons that the government had been crisis ridden from day one and it had to go one day or the other.

Mr Kamat took over the reins of the state on June 8 after he emerged as the ''dark horse'' with the highcommand brushing aside Pratapsingh Rane and Ravi Naik who were in the race for the Chief Ministership.

Kamat continued to face one crisis or the other from the inception but managed to survive, including the revolt led by the Goa Democratic Front, which was a conglomerate of BJP, SGF, MGP, UGDP and an Independent member.

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