Jaitley Gets Additional Charge Of Defence As Parrikar Named Goa Chief Minister
Manohar Parrikar on Monday resigned as the Union defence minister and will be sworn in as the chief minister of Goa on Tuesday heading the BJP-led ministry which has the support of regional outfits and Independents.
"I have tendered my resignation as Defence Minister and sent it to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)" Parrikar told PTI. "I will be taking the oath tomorrow (Tuesday) evening along with the cabinet ministers," he added.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been given additional charge of the defence minister, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Monday.
Shri Arun Jaitley shall be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Defence, in addition to his existing portfolios
March 13, 2017Asked how many ministers would be sworn in, Parrikar said, "The decision on the number of ministers and other issues are being currently worked out. Once the cabinet is finalised, we will inform the media."
The BJP, which failed to cross the half-way mark in the assembly polls with its tally dipping to 13 from 21, pulled off a coup on Sunday by enlisting the support of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and two Independents, to reach the magic figure of 21 in the 40-member house. Thirteen BJP MLA and other legislators who pledged support to the party met Governor Mridula Sinha last evening, who later invited Parrikar to form the government. The BJP stole a march on the Congress which failed to muster the numbers despite emerging as the single-largest party with 17 seats.
Also Read: BJP Stakes Claim To Form Government In Goa Under Manohar Parrikar
The Congress was hoping to get the support of the GFP which has bagged three seats in its maiden bid at the hustings. But by deft moves, coordinated by party veteran and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, the BJP succeeded in keeping the Congress at bay, winning over smaller parties and Independents, who were keen that Parrikar should lead the ministry.
Parrikar, 61, an engineer from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, led the BJP in 2012 to victory and became the chief minister. He, however, was made the defence minister at the Centre in 2014 and was succeeded by Laxmikant Parsekar as the chief minister.
Parsekar was defeated in Mandrem constituency this time and also most of the ministers in his cabinet failed to win.
Parrikar, who graduated to the BJP from the RSS ranks, had also served as chief minister of the state from 2000 to 2002 and from 2002 to 2005. Right from the start of the campaign this time, Parrikar was widely seen as the chief minister probable. He also extensively campaigned for the party in his home state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the campaign and before, lavished praises on Parrikar over his competence and decision-making capacity as the defence minister, especially in the context of the surgical strike on terror launch pads across the border in Jammu and Kashmir.Asked about his two-year stint at the Centre, Parrikar said, "Initially I was finding the role of defence minister difficult but during last two-and-a-half years I have done my job well. I have done it with utter honesty."
"The defence ministry is such a portfolio where allegations are always levelled against the minister but during last two-and-a-half years, despite so much of procurement, there is not a single allegation against the ministry or me," he said.
"If I want to sum up my achievements as the defence minister, I can say, these are boosting of the morale of the force and better procurements," he said.
Parrikar said that through various defence deals, the ministry has saved crores of rupees as many tenders had earlier been over-quoted.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
-
'Never Seen This Level Of Negativity': Sandeep Tandon Says The Next Rally May Be Closer Than You Think
Veteran investor Sandeep Tandon says foreign selling is easing, large-caps are due a comeback and mid-caps are crowded, while he turns positive on gold, power and pharma this Diwali.
