Manohar Parrikar arrives in Goa after discharge from AIIMS, to continue treatment with state-run hospital

Panaji: Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar arrived in his home state Sunday afternoon from New Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment at the AIIMS for a pancreatic ailment. Parrikar, 62, was flown in a special flight and later taken to his private residence at Dona Paula, in an ambulance. The flight landed around 2.35 pm at the state’s Dabolim airport and the ambulance was brought out from the gate of the naval enclave INS Hansa, which is a part of the Navy-run airport. Earlier, Parrikar was on Sunday morning discharged from the AIIMS. According to sources in the AIIMS, he was in the morning shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a while after his condition deteriorated. But later, the administration decided to discharge him. [caption id=“attachment_5377901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. PTI[/caption] The state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital has made elaborate arrangements at his private residence with a team of doctors on standby to take care of his health. Parrikar was admitted to the AIIMS on 15 September. 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. Leaders of the ruling BJP and its allies, who met Parrikar separately, had ruled out any change in leadership in the coastal state. The core committee is the BJP’s key decision-making body in Goa, comprising senior leaders like Parrikar, Union minister Shripad Naik and party state chief Vinay Tendulkar, among others. Parrikar has been ailing since mid-February and has been treated at different hospitals including those in Goa, Mumbai and the US. Union minister Naik told reporters in Panaji earlier in the day that it is okay if Parrikar undergoes treatment in Goa but he needs to take rest. “There has been an improvement in his health compared to what it was when he was flown to AIIMS last month,” the AYUSH minister said. The minister also said he had met Parrikar on Friday. “I got the news that he is coming back but I can’t believe that he is returning. His health is improving and he was expected to stay at the AIIMS for a few more days,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. Naik dismissed any possibility of dissolution of the Goa Assembly and expressed confidence that the Parrikar-led government will complete its five-year term. Questions over the stability of the Goa government have been raised by the Opposition Congress because of Parrikar’s illness. 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. The Opposition Congress is the single largest party in the state Assembly with 16 MLAs.