Why Goa CM keeps his phone switched off?

Explaining the idiosyncrasies of running an administration, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said easy access to Ministers and even the Chief Minister could prove to be a bane for administrators.

Sawant, who is in Mumbai to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly polls, said he kept his phone switched off throughout the day to avoid constant calls from the public for administrative chores.

"I have been monitoring administration for the last six months. My experience is people has the habit of calling up the Chief Minister. I am not lying. Everyone knows my phone number by heart. Thus, I keep my phone switched off throughout the day," Sawant said at a public interaction.

The Chief Minister said he would switch on his phone in night and would respond only by SMS.

"I switch on my phone in night. One night I got a call at 2.30 a.m. The caller was from Canacona, which is not even my Assembly constituency. He said there was no electricity in Canacona, why are you sleeping," Sawant said.

Sawant represents the Sanquelim constituency in North Goa in the Assembly. Canacona is located in the South Goa district.

The Chief Minister said unlike the larger states, like Maharashtra, where several administrative issues were handled at the level of the District Magistrate; in Goa, people had the habit of calling up Ministers and Chief Minister to resolve administrative hiccups.

"People have the habit of bringing administrative work to a Minister or a Chief Minister," Sawant said.IANS