Manohar Parrikar discharged from AIIMS; likely to return to Goa
New Delhi, Oct 14: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was Sunday discharged from the AIIMS, where he has been undergoing treatment for pancreatic ailment, and is likely to return to his home state, sources said.
According to sources in the AIIMS, he was Sunday morning shifted to ICU for a while after his condition deteriorated. But sometime back, the administration decided to discharge him, the sources said.
Parrikar (62) was admitted to Delhi's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on September 15.
"The chief minister is likely to be brought to Goa in a special flight on Sunday from Delhi. The doctors who are treating him at the hospital would certify on Sunday morning whether he is fit to travel back home," the official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had said Saturday.
If he returns to Goa, Parrikar will stay at his private residence in Panaji, he added.
On Friday, Parrikar met Goa BJP's core committee members and ministers from coalition partners at AIIMS to discuss ways to ensure his government functions normally during his absence from office due to ill health.
However, leaders of the ruling BJP and its allies, who met Parrikar separately, had ruled out any change in leadership in the coastal state.
Parrikar has been ailing since mid-February and has been treated at different hospitals including those in Goa, Mumbai and the US.
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India denied Pope Francis’ visit, say Bishops; ‘government did not open the door’
New Delhi: Following the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88, senior Indian bishops have expressed sorrow not only over his passing but also over what they describe as a missed opportunity for India, reported Maktoob Media.
According to Delhi Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto and Thamarassery Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil, the Indian government repeatedly failed to grant permission for the Pope's long-awaited visit, despite consistent interest from the Vatican.
“He too was waiting,” said Archbishop Couto. “Five years ago, he had said, ‘I am knocking on the doors of your government, but they are not opening the doors to me.’ Now maybe God has opened the doors for him in heaven.” His words echoed deep regret that India never hosted the late pontiff, who had made clear his intention to visit the country.
Bishop Inchananiyil reinforced the sentiment, stating, “The Pope had a special desire to visit India. Unfortunately, our doors did not open. That caused him great sorrow.”
The Pope’s unfulfilled visit has drawn renewed scrutiny toward the Indian government’s apparent reluctance, despite earlier gestures suggesting otherwise. At the G7 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had publicly extended an invitation to Pope Francis, and Union Minister George Kurien had emphasized that both the Indian state and the Christian community were awaiting his visit. However, the formal diplomatic process that would enable such a trip never reached fruition.
India has not hosted a papal visit in over 25 years. The last visit was by Pope John Paul II in 1999, who also made a significant trip in 1986. Prior to that, Pope Paul VI had visited Mumbai in 1964 for the International Eucharistic Congress, marking the first-ever papal visit to the country.
Despite India being home to one of the largest Catholic populations in Asia greater than in many Christian-majority nations such as East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore the late pontiff was never able to set foot on Indian soil. In 2017, his planned visit fell through when India did not extend an official invitation, leading him instead to visit neighboring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
