Former Defence Minister and current Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is currently recovering from a pancreatic ailment. He had been to the US for treatment and was also admitted in AIIMS.
Goa Government’s ministers have said that even though he was sick, he had been clearing files from AIIMS. “The chief minister is clearing all the files from the hospital. Whatever files are being sent, he is clearing them within two-three days. No files are pending,” said Goa Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Sudin Dhavalikar. Recently he was shifted to Goa, where he continued to recuperate.
While Parrikar is ailing, cheap attacks from Congress have not stopped. In the latest show of morbid hatred, a Goa Congress Spokesperson Jitendra Deshprabhu stated that unless they are shown Manohar Parrikar in person, BJP should conduct his “Shraadh” i.e. death ceremony:
Deshprabhu is an accused in an illegal mining case and had been arrested earlier by the state crime branch and fined Rs 1.72 crore for illegally extracting iron ore from Corgao village. He was a former national secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party, who was inducted into the Congress in 2012.
Deshprabhu’s utterances have been picked up in national media, but a sanitised version has been presented, without the usage of the words “shraadh”. IANS reports, PTI Reports as well as other reports, steered clear of the offensive remark.
Most reports quote the Congress spokesperson as saying, “At least they should release a video showing that the Chief Minister is walking, speaking and working. There is no bulletin or any doctor speaking on his health condition.” The most offensive part about the comment that points towards Congress’ disregard even for an ailing man has been edited.
Congress is essentially asserting that BJP is being dishonest and that Parrikar may already be deceased and that, if they cannot “show Parrikar in person” they should instead conduct his death ceremony. The essence of Congress’ hatred lies in the full statement and the media, by sanitising this comment seems to be obfuscating the politicking that the Congress has indulged in on Parrikar’s health.
This incident comes just days after Goa BJP state President Vinay Tendulkar had declared that the CM would rejoin office shortly: “Parrikar is recovering well and we expect him to resume office in the next month, that is November,”