Parrikar discharged from AIIMS

Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was on Sunday discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and flown to his hometown Dona Paula in Goa.

The sudden decision to shift 62-year-old Parrikar to Goa took a section of BJP leaders by surprise, even as the Congress displayed its impatience in coming back to power in the state by demanding a special session of the state Assembly.

Sources in AIIMS said that Parrikar was moved to the ICU in AIIMS on Sunday morning as his condition had deteriorated, but decided to discharge him later. “I had met him on Friday. His health appeared to improve, but I do not know why he was discharged from AIIMS,” Union Minister of AYUSH Shripad Naik told DH from Panaji.

A special flight carrying Parrikar, who is being treated for a pancreatic ailment, landed at the Navy-run Dabolim airport around 2.35 pm, and was taken to his private residence in Dona Paula in an ambulance. A team of doctors has been kept on stand by at his residence to respond to any medical issues.

Parrikar had returned to Goa as the chief minister in March last year giving up the coveted post of Union defence minister, as he was the only leader acceptable to allies, whose support was crucial for the BJP to remain in power after the Assembly elections.

Parrikar has been ailing since February and has been receiving treatment in hospitals in Mumbai, the US and Delhi, besides his home state Goa.

With two of his ministers also facing medical issues, the Congress has stepped up campaign to unseat the BJP and even approached Goa Governor Mridula Sinha last month to stake claim to form the government.

On Friday, Parrikar met Goa BJP's core committee members and ministers from coalition partners at AIIMS to discuss ways to ensure his government functions normally during his absence from office due to ill health.

The BJP has ruled out change in chief minister in Goa given the fragile nature of the ruling coalition, absence of an acceptable leader within its ranks and threat by alliance partners to pull the rug if Parrikar was replaced. In the 40-member Goa Assembly, the Parrikar-led government has the support of 23 MLAs.

These comprise 14 BJP MLAs, three each from the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) as well as three Independents. Congress is the single largest party in the state Assembly with 16 MLAs.