Dhavalikar willing to take charge as CM

PONDA: Expressing his willingness to take charge as the Chief Minister of the state to run administration smoothly, PWD Minister Ramakrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar, on Sunday, said that he is not just the senior-most minister, but also “knows everything about the administration.”

Upon being asked for his comments on the MGP’s repeated demand for chief ministership for him, Dhavalikar said, “I am the senior-most minister in the Cabinet, and I know everything about administration. It is not just about being the senior-most, one should also know the rules very well, and I know that by heart.”

The PWD Minister was speaking to this daily on the sidelines of the multi-facility health camp, organised by Dr Ketan Bhatikar at Khandepar.

Explaining about the ministers and MLAs’ claim about the failure of the administration, he said that “Ministers and MLAs are claiming failure of administration as they are not being able to meet the Chief Minister.”

“They have to approach the Secretary or OSD for their works, and they don’t like it. That’s the only matter. But I don’t have issue with that,” he added.

When asked about his party’s central committee’s decision to go it alone in  the upcoming elections including the by-polls in Shiroda and Mandrem constituencies if he was not given the charge as the chief minister, he said, “The MG party is the oldest party, and I am a sincere soldier of the party. Considering it, whatever decision the party’s committee takes, I am bound to follow it.”

Stepping up the pressure on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the MGP, on Saturday, had threatened to go it alone in all the upcoming elections including the by-polls in Shiroda and Mandrem constituencies if the PWD Minister was not made the chief minister.

The MGP has also decided to extend support to the mining dependants in their agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

The two decisions were taken during the party’s central committee meeting in Panaji.

MGP president Deepak Dhavalikar has also stated that “the administration in the state is at a standstill for the last 8 months due to the ill health of the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, and so the MGP is demanding chief ministership for the senior-most minister.”