The two-month-old political imbroglio afflicting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — the number two coalition partner in the Congress-led government in Goa — was diffused on Monday following the resignations of both NCP Ministers submitted to party president Sharad Pawar in New Delhi.
Revenue Minister Jose Philip D'Souza and Tourism Minister Nilkant Halankar, along with Goa NCP president Surendra Shirsat, called on Mr. Pawar and NCP national general secretary Praful Patel in New Delhi and submitted their resignations on Monday.
Both expressed regret about the incidents of the last two months.
Mr. D'Souza and Mr. Halankar had defied the party's directive two months ago to hand over their resignations to the party high command, which was contemplating a reshuffle of ministerial berths in Goa. The NCP has three MLAs in Goa, of which two are Ministers.
When contacted by The Hindu over telephone, Mr. Shirsat said that Mr. Pawar heard both the Ministers and told them that he would discuss the Goa affairs on the party platform and with senior colleagues and convey to them the party's decision and future course of action.
Mr. Shirsat said that both Ministers told Mr. Pawar that they had been loyal to the NCP and had not done anything that would adversely affect the interest of the party in Goa.
