Shripad Naik increases pressure on CM Parrikar to resign due to deteriorating health

Ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's leadership will have to be changed "today or tomorrow", Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said on Friday.

Naik also said that in view of Parrikar's ill-health, dropping him as the Chief Minister was a "requirement".

"Change will have to be done today or tomorrow. It is a requirement. You know the Chief Minister's health is not good. But he is still working in this condition," Naik told reporters here.

Naik is one of the first Goa BJP leaders to demand a change of leadership in Goa even as the state BJP, as well as members of the BJP-led coalition, have come under immense flak over the Chief Minister's prolonged absence due to his illness.

Parrikar is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer and has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and Delhi for nearly nine months.

He returned from New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences on October 14 and has not moved out of his private residence, for any official event since.

The opposition has been demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister, claiming that the administration has come to a standstill due to Parrikar's absence.

To a question, as to whether it was fair to let an unwell Parrikar handle administrative matters despite his illness, Naik said: "There are many reasons, which cannot be fully talked about. The thing will happen in time."

Naik also said that he would take the lead to patch up differences among top BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Goa Speaker Rajendra Arlekar, who have openly rebelled against the decision taken by state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar and Parrikar to induct two Congress MLAs into the BJP.