PANAJI, Nov 6; Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi said here today that the controversy surrounding Governor P C Alexander's recent statement in Goa about the law and order situation in Mumbai was now closed after the Governor clarified that he had been misquoted in a section of the press.The Chief Minister said that a law and order problem, which had arisen in Mumbai on account of gang wars and killings, had been taken care of by his government.pJoshi, who is holidaying in Goa for the last three days, was talking to mediapersons after the inauguration of the new building project of the Navjivan Society of Goan freedom fighters at Porvorim in North Goa. State Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane chaired the function at which Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap was the chief guest.Asked about the role of the governor in the contemporary Indian system, Joshi disclosed that the subject would be discussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Inter-state council to be held in Delhi shortly.Joshi denied statements that gangsters were being killed by the police in fake encounters in Mumbai and said that the police were entitled to use weapons for self-protection. Replying to a question on the Anti-Defection Law, he said he personally favoured changes in the law to curb defections but doubted if the consensus to favour such a change would emerge among the country's political parties.About Bharatiya Janata Party's role in UP politics, Joshi said that being their coalition partners, he was concerned with BJP's role in Maharashtra alone.
