Overview

• Govind Gaude was dropped from the Goa cabinet on June 18, with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant taking over his art and culture, sports and rural development portfolios.
• The decision followed Gaude’s May 25 allegation that contractors in the Tribal Welfare Department paid bribes to have files processed at Shram Shakti Bhavan.
• BJP Goa unit president Damodar Naik said the unanimous move was made after consultations with the party’s central leadership to enforce discipline.
• In response, Gaude tweeted that his removal was a “reward” for speaking up for downtrodden communities on Goa Revolution Day.
• The Congress seized on the row to demand that Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai sack the state government for “rampant corruption.”