panaji:
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the cabinet has decided to grant permanent ministerial status to former Prime Minister Pratapsingh Rane.
Mr. Rane is currently a Congress MLA representing the Poriem Assembly segment.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Sawant said the cabinet has decided to grant permanent minister status to Mr Rane, a former prime minister and ex-speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Goa.
Our government has decided to grant the highest legislator, Shri Pratapsingh Rane ji, the status of cabinet for life for his great contributions to the state of Goa. He held the highest positions in the state as Chief Minister and Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/K3qKbQ2vne
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) January 6, 2022
The decision to award him the credit was taken because Mr Rane has served 50 years as a legislator in the Goa assembly during the current tenure, he said.
The prime minister further said that the state cabinet had decided that those individuals who have completed 50 years as an MLA and who were former prime ministers or former speakers would be given such status in the future.
The 87-year-old MLA had served four terms on several occasions from 1987 to 2007.
On Twitter, Mr Rane’s son, Vishwajit, who is the State’s Health Minister, said: “I am grateful to the Honorable Chief Minister @DrPramodPSawant and the entire Cabinet for awarding lifelong cabinet status to my father Shri Pratapsingh Raoji Rane There is no better way to honor his 50 years of public service as Chief Minister, Speaker and MLA.”
“This is a very special gesture. I thank Hon’ble CM @DrPramodPSawant for granting this recognition to my father. On behalf of the people of Sattari and Usgao, I express my gratitude to the Hon’ble Chief Minister and the entire cabinet,” he said in another tweet.