Pramod Sawant gets second term as Chief Minister of Goa
Panaji(PTI): As he prepares to start a fresh innings as the Goa Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant has turned a new page in the state's political history after leading the BJP to a victory in the Assembly polls, a development that shows the saffron party has come out of the shadow of its tall leader late Manohar Parrikar.
On Monday evening, Sawant, who considered Parrikar as his mentor, was unanimously elected the leader of BJP legislature party in Goa, clearing the way for him to take over as the chief minister for a second term.
The BJP, in power in Goa since 2012, is starting its third straight term in office.
The BJP under Sawant overcame anti-incumbency and resignations by some key figures, including Parrikar's son, over ticket allocation, and put up its second best performance ever - winning 20 seats in the 40-member Assembly in multi-cornered fights in the February 14 polls.
Sawant, who took over as chief minister for the first time in March 2019, brought the BJP tantalizingly close to the simple majority mark of 21, defying pre-poll predictions of a hung Assembly.
He has now been rewarded with a second term in office by the BJP leadership with support for his incoming government coming from two MLAs of the regional outfit MGP and three Independent legislators.
The BJP's best performance till date had been 21 seats won by it in 2012 when Parrikar dominated Goa's political scene.
The 48-year-old politician is a three-time MLA from Sankhalim in North Goa. He was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly when the BJP formed its government under the leadership of Parrikar in 2017.
He was sworn in as the chief minister for the first time in March 2019 after the death of Parrikar.
The Ayurveda medical practitioner is considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and was pictured participating in an RSS event during his first term as the chief minister.
Sawant was at the helm when the coastal state faced the COVID-19 pandemic along with other parts of the country.
Sawant's electoral career began in 2008 when he was fielded from the Sankhalim (then Pale) Assembly segment by the BJP, but he lost to Congress candidate Pratap Gauns.
However, he managed to win the seat in 2012 when the BJP contested the elections under the leadership of Parrikar. That was the only time when the BJP won a majority on its own in the Assembly.
He got re-elected in 2017 from Sankhalim and went on to become the Assembly Speaker before being chosen by the BJP, at the age of 46, to succeed Parrikar as the CM.
In the 2022 polls, Sawant was elected with a margin of 666 votes against his nearest rival Dharmesh Saglani of the Congress.
His wife, Sulakshana, is also an active BJP worker and associated with the party's women's wing in Goa.
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Ex-RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh's medical registration cancelled
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) on Thursday cancelled the registration of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandip Ghosh, an official said.
Ghosh, who is in CBI custody, has been removed from the list of registered medical practitioners maintained by the WBMC, he said.
His licence was cancelled under various provisions of the Bengal Medical Act of 1914, the official said.
He is an orthopaedic surgeon and without the licence, he cannot practice.
Ghosh was arrested by the CBI on September 2 for his alleged involvement in the financial irregularities at the hospital amid the protests over the rape and murder of the on-duty trainee doctor. He was later accused of evidence tampering in the rape-murder case.
Aniket Mahato, one of the leading faces of the junior doctors who have been agitating over the death of their colleague, described it as a "victory".
"This is a victory for our deceased sister. The cancellation of Ghosh's medical registration should have been done the very next day of his arrest. We are happy that the West Bengal Medical Council has finally taken this step," he said.
The West Bengal Doctors' Forum (WBDF), however, described the decision to cancel Ghosh's medical licence as an "eyewash" and an "attempt to save him".
"Registration of Sandip Ghosh has been cancelled as per rules 25 a (2) of the Bengal Medical Act 1914. As per these rules, two-thirds of the council members must vote in favour of the decision to cancel the registration of any medical practitioner. In the case of Ghosh, no such meeting was conducted. Also, at present, a quorum is not possible due to the resignation of a few members and the death of one member. So this order is legally not tenable and just an eye wash," Dr Rajiv Pandey of the WBDF told PTI.
Claiming that the registrar of the council cancelled the licence on verbal communication of WBMC president Sudipta Roy, Pandey said it "was not acceptable".
Ghosh was appointed the principal of the RG Kar Medical College in February 2021. Amid the protests, he resigned from the post.
The notice regarding the cancellation of Ghosh's registration was sent to his Beliaghata and New Town residences.
