Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is likely to return on Sunday from Delhi, where he has been undergoing treatment for pancreatic ailment at a hospital, a senior government official said on Saturday.
Mr Parrikar, 62, was admitted to Delhi’s premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences on September 15.
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“The chief minister is likely to be brought to Goa in a special flight on Sunday from Delhi. The doctors who are treating him at the hospital would certify on Sunday morning whether he is fit to travel back home,” the official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
If he returns to Goa, Mr Parrikar will stay at his private residence in Panaji, he added.
Meanwhile, a minister in Panaji said that ailing Parrikar should have stayed back at the AIIMS in New Delhi and nursed himself back to health instead of returning to the coastal state.
Speaking to the media ahead of Parrikar’s arrival in Goa, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said : “I have got the news. I still cannot believe it. I met him day before yesterday. His health has improved over last 15 days but I feel he should stay there for a few days more”.
Naik also said that it was imperative that Parrikar takes adequate rest as part of his healing process after being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer.
On Friday, Mr 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.
He also reviewed pending development works and discussed distribution of some of his portfolios to his cabinet colleagues.
However, leaders of the ruling BJP and its allies, who met Mr Parrikar separately, had ruled out any change in leadership in the coastal state.
Mr Parrikar has been ailing since mid-February and has been treated at different hospitals including those in Goa, Mumbai and the US.
(With agency inputs)