Parrikar clearing files from AIIMS; BJP yet to reach consensus on new Goa CM

The ruling MLAs in Goa on Sunday continued to root for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, insisting that the Chief Minister's post is not up for grabs, and claimed the ailing leader was clearing official files from AIIMS in Delhi.

Parrikar was airlifted on Saturday and got admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.

"He is clearing files. Today, I got four files cleared by him. If he was not there, how could these have been cleared? When I met him the other day, he was clearing files. So where is the question of giving charge to anybody or giving anything else?" said Sudin Dhavalikar, the Public Works Department minister.

Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho who claimed he had met the Goa Chief Minister in person in Delhi on Sunday, said that Parrikar was recovering well and that there was no vacancy for the top political post in the state.

The BJP central leadership's attempts to form a consensus between party MLAs and alliance partners in Goa over alternate leadership due to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's illness remained inconclusive on Sunday.

Allocation of portfolios held by Parrikar could take place in the next few days, a ruling alliance Minister said.

Emerging out of a city hotel, where BJP's General Secretary (organisation) Ram Lal and party observers B.L. Santosh and Vijay Puranik met MLAs from the BJP, allies Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Goa Forward, and Independent MLAs for several hours, Lal said that he will address the media on Monday.

"He was in a very cheerful mood, he was taking rest. Even his health has improved," he told reporters.

Asked about a section of the BJP's coalition allies demanding a "permanent solution" to the leadership crisis in the state, Godinho said: "It is all hypothetical. When all those questions will arise? When there is a vacancy. There is no vacancy of Chief Minister. He will continue as a Chief MInister...".

When Sports Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar was questioned, as to why ruling MLAs were insisting on piling Parrikar with official work, especially when he was suffering from a serious health condition, the minister said: "It is his (Parrikar) decision. How can we tell him? He wants to work. Even though their health is failing, some people have enthusiasm. He is enthusiastic about working for Goa".

Parrikar was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in February this year, after which he has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and now Delhi for treatment.

His absence due to medical reasons has been criticised by the Opposition as well as civil society.

With IANS inputs