New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda along with eight Congress MLAs who switched over to the saffron party.

However, the opposition targeted Sawant for his inability to get an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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"If PM was not scheduled to meet them, why did Sawant say so? Was it just to gain publicity or is his 'High Command' avoiding him? Sawant must clarify," NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto said.

Sawant, the eight turncoat MLAs, and Goa BJP chief Sadanand Shet Tanvade met Shah and Nadda at the party headquarters here.

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The Goa chief minister and six MLAs had reached the national capital on Sunday night, while two MLAs joined them here on Monday.

Sawant was camping at Goa Sadan for the entire day and drove down to the BJP headquarters only at 6 pm to meet Shah and Nadda.

Last week, eight Congress MLAs -- Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Phaldesai, Sankalp Amonkar, Rudolf Fernandes and Aleixo Sequeira -- had joined the BJP after passing a resolution in a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party.

The BJP retained power in the 40-member Goa Assembly after the elections in March this year.

The BJP now has 28 MLAs in the 40-member Assembly, while the Congress's number has reduced to three.

The Goa cabinet currently has 11 ministers from the BJP, besides Sudin Dhavalikar of the ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)