NO ACTION AGAINST BENAULIM MLA MICKKY PACHECO: SHARAD PAWAR

PANJIM: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday virtually ruled out disciplinary action against Benaulim MLA Francisco 'Mickky' Pacheco for his outbursts-directly and indirectly-against the party. Pawar added that the induction of the former tourism minister into the cabinet could be decided only after his conviction is set aside in the case where Pacheco has been accused of assaulting an electricity department engineer.

"Anyone in our party who is facing this type of a case, has to see to it that his/her name is cleared of the charges. They need to appeal against such orders. In this (Pacheco's) case, we will keep our decision in abeyance until the conviction is set aside," Pawar said.

Asked about Pacheco's reported moves to join another political outfil, Pawar said that in a democracy, everyone has a right to take his/her own decision. "We are not here to stop anyone," he said, adding that the party was not going to take any "extreme step" against Pacheco.

Pawar also announced the formation of a core committee to strengthen the party base in Goa. The core committee has been formed headed by state unit president Surendra Sirsat and consists of observer B Chavan, vice-presidents Pandurang Raut, Carmo Pegado and Sangeeta Parab, besides the two ministers-Jose Philip D'Souza and Nilkant Halarnkar, he announced, while talking to the media after the executive committee meeting held at Porvorim on Tuesday evening.

The core committee will visit various party blocks and decide on the organizational set up. They have been asked to constitute a booth-level committee, he said. While the party will be galvanized for the next assembly elections, an issue which was discussed at the meeting on Tuesday, Pawar said a state-level convention would also be organized.

Another decision taken by the executive meeting was how best to avail of benefits from the central ministries headed by NCP leaders. Pawar said that at the meeting, it was felt that the state NCP could take advantage of central government schemes mainly in agriculture, horticulture and fisheries as they could benefit a big section of the local population. For this, the state president will interact with the stakeholders, he added.

He also said that benefits could be accrued through his colleague Praful Patel though there is not much scope for large industries in the state. "We can see what the potential for industial growth in Goa is. No doubt, environment which is an area of concern, has to be kept in mind," he said.

Reacting to Pawar's statement, Pacheco said that if Pawar wanted to induct him, he would have done it after the session. About the assault case, he said there are four ministers facing conviction charges in some case or the other. "Why is the NCP associating with a government with four ministers facing charges?" he questioned. - TNN