Sanjay Nirupam questions 'hurried' swearing-in of new Goa chief minister after Parrikar's death

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday questioned the timing of the swearing-in of Goa's new chief minister hours after former chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s cremation. Pramod Sawant took oath as the chief minister around 2 am on Tuesday morning. After a lot of discussion with allies and some amount of drama, the 46-year-old Ayurveda practioner and BJP leader, Sawant was eventually chosen as the chief minister.

Though Congress had staked claim to form the government in the state, it failed in its bid. But that didn’t stop Mumbai Congress Committee president Sanjay Nirupam from calling the BJP insensitive. "Found it odd that the CM took oath at 1.30 am in Goa. It felt like BJP was waiting for Parrikar ji to leave," he tweeted in Hindi. "At least they could have waited till his ashes were immersed."

गोवा में रात डेढ़ बजे नए मुख्यमंत्री ने शपथ ली।
थोड़ा अटपटा लगा।
ऐसा लगा जैसे पर्रिकर जी के जाने के इंतज़ार में पूरी BJP थी।
कम-से-कम उनकी अस्थियाँ तो विसर्जित हो जाने देते।#RIPManoharParrikar

— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) March 19, 2019

Sawant, a devoted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) man and has risen through the party ranks. He was groomed by none other than Parrikar himself. He has held several positions in the BJP's youth wing before coming into prominence when he led a massive protest in 2011 against the then Congress government led by Digambar Kamat over alleged irregularities in the mining sector.

It was the 2011 protest when Parrikar noticed him and started grooming him. Parrikar, who was the leader of opposition in Goa Assembly at that time, helped him in getting a ticket for 2012 state Assembly elections. With the backing of "Goa's favourite son" himself, Sawant won the election from Sanquelim in 2012 and retained the seat in 2017. Earlier, he had contested by elections from Pale constituency in 2008 but lost.

The 45-year-old leader was born to Pandurang and Padmini Sawant in Pale-Cotombi village. He obtained a Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery degree from the Ganga Education Society's Ayurvedic Medical College in Kolhapur and a postgraduate degree of Master of Social Work from the Tilak Maharashtra University at Pune. His wife - Sulakshana Sawant is a teacher at a school in Bicholim. She is also a BJP leader and currently heads the Goa unit of the BJP Mahila Morcha.