Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar resigns, says party wanted him in cabinet

Panaji, Aug 21 (PTI) Goa’s Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar resigned from the post on Thursday, ahead of his induction into the cabinet led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

The 57-year-old Canacona MLA tendered his resignation to State Legislature Secretary Namrata Ulman at the assembly complex, as Deputy Speaker Joshua D’Souza is currently out of the state on a private visit.

Tawadkar and former CM Digambar Kamat would be inducted into the state cabinet at 12 noon at Raj Bhavan.

“I wanted to complete my five years as the Speaker, but the party (BJP) wanted me to step down and work for the organisation. I was asked to take the ministerial berth,” Tawadkar told PTI.

He said that he kept resisting for some time before giving in to the wishes of his party.

The state cabinet is scheduled for a reshuffle during the day with the induction of Tawadkar and Kamat.

While one ministerial post is vacant after Govind Gaude was dropped from the cabinet on June 18, another minister, Aleixo Sequeira, resigned on Wednesday, citing personal reasons.

CM Sawant had confirmed on Wednesday that Tawadkar and Kamat would be made ministers.

“I am happy that during my role as Speaker, I managed to keep the respect of the chair and neutrality. I have shown that the Speaker can do a lot of things for society,” he said, referring to his initiative of ‘Shram Dham’ under which the poor and needy are given housing at no cost.

Tawadkar said that he had dedicated his time to the people despite holding the Speaker's post.

Tawadkar was elected as the Assembly Speaker in March 2022, soon after the BJP won the Goa polls.

Elected to the Assembly in 2007, he earlier served as a minister in the BJP governments, with portfolios including sports, tribal welfare and agriculture. PTI RPS NR