BJP leaders, alliance ministers meet Parrikar, say no leadership change
Panaji, Sep 14 : Top BJP leaders and alliance ministers in the BJP-led coalition cabinet on Friday met ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at a private clinic in Candolim village.
The former Defence Minister was admitted to the health facility two days ago.
Parrikar -- who earlier on Friday attended Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at his ancestral home in Parra village, located about 10 km from Panaji -- is fine, both PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar of the MGP and Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai of Goa Forward said, after meeting the Chief Minister.
This is the first time Parrikar, 62, has met members of his cabinet as well as top BJP leaders since September 6, when he returned from his third visit to the US, where he is undergoing treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer.
"His health is good," Sardesai told reporters, after meeting Parrikar at the private clinic in Candolim beach village, located 15 km from Panaji.
Dhavalikar said the Chief Minister was working at the hospital and clearing files.
When asked if the alliance leaders had sought a change of Parrikar's leadership, in view of the Chief Minister's poor health, Dhavalikar said: "He is doing work. When he is doing work, where is the question of taking charge."
BJP sources also said central observers would arrive in Goa soon to take stock of the political situation in view of Parrikar's illness.
The Chief Minister has been recuperating at his private residence near Panaji ever since his return from the US on September 6.
He was admitted to the private clinic last week, before being admitted a second time, two days ago, after informed sources said he had developed fever.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
