Shameful that ailing Parrikar propped in CM chair: Ex-Goa RSS chief

Panaji, Jan 9 (IANS) It is shameful that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar continues to be in power despite being severely unwell, former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar said on Wednesday, adding that an ailing head of state is detrimental to the state and its people.

Velingkar, who was sacked as state Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) head two years back amid an ongoing feud with Parrikar, also said that his political party, the Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), would contest the upcoming state Assembly bypolls in Goa.

"It is a matter of shame that a state like Goa is being government by a Chief Minister who is severely ill. The state deserves better. The CM should take rest and it is shameful that he is being kept in the chair in this state," Velingkar told reporters in Panaji.

Parrikar is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer and has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York for 11 months now. The opposition has been demanding his resignation, claiming that his continuance in the chair during the prolonged illness, has led to an administrative slowdown, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has insisted that Parrikar is fit enough to rule the state.

Velingkar also announced that his party would contest the upcoming but yet unscheduled assembly bypolls in Shiroda and Mandrem legislative constituencies, which have been necessitated due to the resignations of Congress legislators Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte, respectively, both of whom joined the BJP last year.

"The GSM will teach the BJP a lesson. This is an untrustworthy and a lying government which has gone back on its words on several key issues like medium of instruction, mining resumption, banning casino operations, etc," Velingkar said.