Special prayers for ailing Parrikar at controversial Hindu convention in Goa

The All India Hindu Convention to be held in Goa on June 4 will offer special prayers for Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently undergoing advanced treatment for pancreatic cancer in a US hospital.

"Goa Chief Minister is of clean character and principled. Unfortunately, he is grappling with some health issues. So we will offer special prayers and good wishes for his health," one of the convenors of the event Charudatta Pingale told reporters on Friday at a press conference in Panaji.

"A lot of respectable personalities are attending the convention," Pingale added.

Parrikar has been undergoing treatment at a New York-based health facility since March 2018.

The Goa event is expected to see the attendance of 650 participants from 180 Hindu organisations coming from 19 states, as well as from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

The convention will discuss what is termed the failure of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in resolving issues related to Hindus, including enacting a law to ban cow slaughter, said Pingale.

The event had hit the headlines in 2017 after Madhya Pradesh-based Sadhvi Saraswati in her speech at the Goa convention said that those who eat beef should be hung in public.

Ramesh Shinde, national spokesperson of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, which is organising the event distanced himself from the comments. Saraswati will not be attending this edition of the event.