New Delhi: Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai on Saturday claimed Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s ailment was affecting his working and that of the state administration.The statement comes a day after Goa BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar said there would be no change in leadership in the coastal state. The Goa Forward Party is one of the BJP’s coalition partners in the state.Parrikar is suffering from a pancreatic ailment and is currently being treated at his residence in Panaji.“I expect them (BJP) to clarify. I am not a hypocrite, I will discuss the issue straight. It is a fact that the CM is ill and that has affected his working. As a result, it has affected the Goa administration. There are no two ways about it,” Sardesai told reporters in Margao.Earlier, BJP leader Nilesh Cabral, who was recently inducted into the Goa Cabinet, had reportedly claimed that Sardesai’s statement on leadership change, made a couple of days ago, was due to his “private interest”.Also Read: Chief Minister Parrikar Returns to Goa After TreatmentSpeaking on Saturday, Sardesai, who is the state agriculture minister, said, “We were called by BJP national president Amit Shah to Delhi to discuss leadership issues (arising out of Parrikar’s ailment).”“What is the personal interest in that? Cabral has told me that he was misquoted and he will clarify it. Cabral is new in the state cabinet and he should have control over what he speaks,” Sardesai said.Manohar Parrikar was released from AIIMS earlier this week after being hospitalised for almost a month. He has been ailing since mid-February and has been treated in various hospitals in Goa, US and Delhi.As The Wire reported earlier, Parrikar’s ill health has sparked a long and complicated power struggle in Goa with many ministers vying for the top post. The top leadership of the BJP has repeatedly dismissed any foreseeable change in leadership.“Parrikar’s dominance over BJP affairs in Goa, his brisk moves to nix any challengers such as Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik and the concentration of all decision-making in his hands amplified the “strong leader” cult. But it also prevented the rise of a second-rung leadership in the party,” wrote Devika Sequeira, reporting for The Wire.Naik, earlier this week, dismissed any possibility of dissolution of the Goa Assembly and expressed confidence that the Parrikar-led government will complete its five-year term.Two days ago, Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanad Sopte resigned as Congress MLAs and joined the BJP, bringing down the strength of the opposition party to 14 in the 40-member Goa Assembly.“There is no question of any other MLA leaving the Congress party. All the remaining MLAs are united and are working to tackle the BJP-led government which is determined to stay in power by hook or by crook,” Goa Congress spokesperson Amarnath Panjikar said here Saturday.He added that the Congress would contest bypolls in both Assembly seats – Shiroda and Mandrem that were vacated by Shirodkar and Sopte respectively.(with PTI inputs)
