Cong urges Parrikar to resign gracefully, says going to assembly with pipe in nose doesn't suit you

Panaji, Feb 03: The Congress on Saturday demanded the resignation of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in the face of his failing health.

Congress leader Reginaldo Lourenco on Saturday said Parrikar should honourably resign or rather give charge to somebody. Talking to ANI, Lourenco said, "I'm not here to dictate terms, his party will dictate terms to him. But don't go to assembly with that pipe in the nose, all things coming out from your pocket. It doesn't suit you."

As a leader, he should have some class. It is his own leadership quality which shows that what sort of a person he is. A leader who is not determined," Lourenco further said.

The Congress legislator's remark came just a day after Parrikar was admitted to the Cancer department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also hit back at the grand old party saying that the Congress' demand for Parrikar's resignation was a result of their frustration.

The Congress has been demanding that it should be allowed to form the government in the state and claimed that Parrikar's illness and inability to attend office was taking a toll on day-to-day affairs of the state.

Parrikar has been under rigorous treatment over the last 12 months. After returning from a New York-based medical facility in May last year, the former Defence Minister was hospitalised at the AIIMS in June. He has subsequently been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York since then. After eight months Parrikar made a public appearance on January 27 when he inaugurated a 5.1-km bridge in Mandovi along with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Parrikar, earlier in the week, also presented the State Budget in the Goa Assembly.