Would never be CM if I had done MBBS: Goa CM Sawant

Panaji, June 29 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds a degree in alternative medicine, on Saturday said he would never have become Chief Minister had he obtained an MBBS or engineering degree.

Speaking at a function organised by the Goa Ayurvedic Medical Association, Sawant also said that he was transferred a record seven times in six days during his stint as practitioner of alternative medicine for the state government's health ministry, during the previous Congress regime.

"I became CM because I went for BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery). If I had been an MBBS or an engineer, I may not have become CM. If I did an MBBS, I would never have the mentality to practice in a village. I would have practiced in a city or would have hankered after a government job," Sawant told the function.

He also said that he got the opportunity to practice in Goa's villages because he had a BAMS degree and in due course became active in social work, before eventually entering active politics with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Recounting his early days as a government doctor of alternative medicine, Sawant, a legislator from Sanquelim Assembly constituency, said he had to suffer harassment at the hands of the Congress regime which kept transferring him, which eventually made him lose interest in the government job and his practice.

"The reason is, when the BJP government was in power, I was posted in Sanquelim, Bicholim and Valpoi, but after Congress government came to power, I was transferred seven times in six days. No one has had a transfer series like this. I was in six PHCs (public health centres) and then on one day I was posted to two PHCs," he said.