Parrikar says he will not tolerate corruption

BJPs man of the hour mobbed by supporters

Goa’s new Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar demonstrated on Friday why he is the BJP’s man of the hour. Thousands of euphoric fans and supporters turned out to cheer him at the Campal grounds as he and five other ministers read the pledge of office before Governor K Sakaranarayanan.

Taken out of the confines of Raj Bhavan for the first time, the oath-taking ceremony was cleverly turned into a victory rally for the man who shaped the saffron sweep in Goa.

The message would not have been lost on the BJP’s top-rung line-up. Sitting in the front row in the dusty pandal were party president Nitin Gadkari, L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Ravi Shankar Prasad, M Venkaiah Naidu and Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

“My dear supporters, people think with the new government change will come tomorrow. I don’t have a magic wand, but one thing I promise, there will be zero tolerance for corruption,” Parrikar said in Konkani to loud cheering and shouts of Vande Mataram from some corners.

He said jobs would be created for the unemployed young and Goa would get cheaper fuel by April 2.

The BJP’s manifesto had promised a cut of Rs 11 in fuel pricing if it came to power.
As soon as Advani and other VIPs were seen out, a swell of well-wishers mobbed the new chief minister for a handshake till he said he couldn’t shake any more hands and was whisked off by the security.

This is Parrikar’s third stint as chief minister. He became chief minister for the first time in 2000 by engineering a split in the Congress, but sensing instability went for a hurried mid-term poll in 2002.

He returned as chief minister of a shaky coalition, but lost power in early 2005.
BJP MLAs Francis D’Souza, Laxmikanth Parsekar, Matanhy Saldanha and Dayanand Mandrekar and MGP leader Ramkrishna Dhavlikar were also inducted on Friday.

Addressing the media after a first cabinet meeting Parrikar said a new assembly session would be held on March 19 and the budget would be presented on March 21.