Minister hopes for a miracle for cancer-stricken Parrikar

Goa’s Power Minister Nilesh Cabral yesterday said he hoped for a miracle for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has been battling cancer for several months.

“We only hope that he recovers fast, a miracle happens and that he leads us in the future. That is all we ask (for),” Cabral told reporters here, soon after Parrikar returned from New Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

However, another minister said Parrikar should have stayed back at the AIIMS and nursed himself back to health instead of returning to the state.

Speaking to the media ahead of Parrikar’s arrival, federal 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 the last 15 days but I feel he should stay there for a few days more”.

Naik also said that it was imperative that Parrikar take adequate rest as part of his healing process.

“After he returns, I will meet and speak to him. He must have returned (to Goa) because the last chemotherapy must have been administered. He can take future treatment in Goa.”

Parrikar arrived in Goa by a special flight and headed straight to his private residence, near Panaji, where a government-operated ambulance and a medical crew were kept on a stand-by.

Parrikar was admitted to the AIIMS on September 15. The former defence minister has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and Delhi for the last seven months.

On Friday, Parrikar held a meeting of his cabinet ministers and senior members of the Bharatiya Janata Party state executive committee at AIIMS.

The Congress has been demanding Parrikar’s resignation on account of his prolonged illness and his absence from office.