Dropped minister Madkaikar threatens to quit as MLA

Panaji, Mar 15 (UNI) Pandurang Madkaikar, who was dropped from the cabinet as transport minister to accommodate MGP leader Ramakrishna Dhavlikar on March 13, today threatened to resign as Congress legislator if he was not ''reinducted'' into the ministry before the Budget session beginning on March 24.

''Neither I nor other Congress legislators were consulted before dropping me from the Cabinet. This amounts to great injustice to the scheduled tribes and Bahujan Samaj in Goa,'' Mr Madkaikar told in a well attended public meeting of his followers at Gandhi circle in Old Goa this evening.

The ST leader further blamed Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for dropping him from the ministry to ''save his own gaddi (seat)''. It was unfortunate that other Bahujan Samaj leaders in the party including Finance Minister and Home minister failed to ''open up their mouths'' over this ''grave injustice''.

Mr Madkaikar was one among the four legislators, who played a major role in toppling the erstwhile BJP regime in 2004 even as a minister holding the same portfolio. He later joined the Congress to become the minister.

Sensing his removal from the cabinet, he had organised a huge rally of his followers as a show of strength, but in vain with the party high command giving weight to the recommendation of the coordination committee of the coalition parties in Delhi to include MGP leader to stabilise Kamat-led government in Goa.

None of the Congress legislators and ministers attended the swearing in ceremony of Dhavlikar at Raj Bhawan.

UNI BM/DB VD RAI2351