Manohar Parrikar pays cordial visit to Velingkar on Ganesh festival

Panaji, Sep 11 Old camaraderie was witnessed between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Goa RSS leader Subhash Velingkar when the two met at the latter's residence even as they refrained from discussing the Medium of Instruction (MOI) row.

The former Goa chief minister visited Velingkar recently during the Ganesha Chaturthi festival and it was their first meeting after Velingkar was ousted from the post of RSS Goa Vibhag Sangh Chalak on August 31.

"When Parrikar came to my place to seek blessing of Ganesh during Chaturthi, I did not see him in different angle. The entire atmosphere was friendly," Velingkar told reporters today.

He was talking to media persons after addressing a convention of RSS workers at Bambolim near here, attended by over 2,000 swayamsevkas.

"He (Parrikar) took prasad from me and went to enquire about my wife's health, who is unwell. We have a family relationship. Our relation with him is from the time he was a child. Those relationships don't get affected but that does not mean that we will not be true to our ideology," the RSS leader said.

Velingkar, who has now floated a parallel outfit -- RSS Goa prant, had accused Parrikar of misinforming the Sangh leadership, which he claimed led to his ouster.

Convener of Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) which is spearheading the movement in Goa to promote regional languages in primary schools, Velingkar said there was not a single exchange on the issue of MOI.

"I didn't want to raise the issue..we have started the agitation. We have surpassed the phase of discussion," he said.

Velingkar in the past had accused Parrikar of cheating BBSM by allowing continuation of grants to English-medium of schools.

To a query, Velingkar said RSS Goa Prant has no objection to the appointment of Laxman Behre as Goa Vibhag Sangh Chalak.

"Nana (Laxman) Behre is a 'sajjan' and 'nisthavant swayamsevak' (gentleman and honest). We have no objection to his appointment. Konkan prant will keep on appointing people," he said.

He said they are ready to work under Behre's leadership post state Assembly elections, scheduled to be held next year in March.

PTI