Panaji: On the first day of the new year, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar made a surprise visit to the State secretariat at Porvorim on Tuesday, where he was welcomed by ministers, party MLAs, and BJP workers.
Mr. Parrikar (63) with a nasogastrict tube running from the nasal passage into the stomach was accompanied by a team of medical professionals and staff from the Chief Minister’s Office.
This is his first visit to the secretariat since his return from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on October 14, last year. This is also his second public appearance in the last few months. Last month, the CM visited the under-construction third bridge on the Mandovi river.
Sadanand Shet Tanavade, general secretary of BJP, Goa, who was present, said the visit will boost the enthusiasm of the BJP cadre and the people of Goa. “This is a good development. Seeing our CM is encouraging for our cadre,” Mr. Tanavade told press persons. He later said Mr. Parrikar held a meeting with his Cabinet colleagues and officials to review work.
Mr. Parrikar was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in February last year. He is under treatment at his private residence after treatment in hospitals in Mumbai, U.S. and Delhi.
The Opposition has been demanding that he resign or hand over the charge of office to some Cabinet minister till he recovers, insisting that his operating from his private residence has led to the collapse of the administration.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shekhar Salkar, chief of oncology department, Manipal-Goa Hospital, lauded the CM.
“In Mr. Parrikar, we see a strong man with tremendous willpower to win against the deadly disease. In the fight against cancer, there can be only one winner; it’s either the patient or cancer. He has set a good example for all cancer patients that they have to be positive in their approach,” Dr. Salkar, who is an office-bearer of the Goa Cancer Society, said.