Manohar Parrikar in hospital, Congress stakes claim to form government in Goa

In the absence of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, the Congress on Monday claimed that the state government was not functioning and staked claim to form the government in the state. Parrikar has been admitted to Delhi’s All India Medical Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for follow-up treatment reportedly of a pancreatic ailment.

Fourteen Goa Congress MLAs submitted a letter before the Raj Bhavan staking claim to form the government. However, there has not been any meeting between the Governor and the Congress MLAs so far. The Congress party has 16 MLAs in Goa.

Earlier on Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had ruled out any change in the leadership in Goa, claiming that the chief minister was fine.

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BJP president Amit Shah has sent a three-member committee comprising senior party leaders - BL Santhosh, Ram Lal and Vinay Puranik - to Goa to take stock of the political situation in view of Parrikar's illness.

“There is no issue about the government and there is no demand of change in leadership from anyone," Ram Lal told reporters in Panaji.

Ram Lal refused to disclose more details about the meeting but Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said that there was no question of leadership change in the state as Parrikar was "fine".

"During the meeting with central observers today we discussed organisational issues. There is no issue of leadership," Tendulkar said.

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The 62-year-old former defence minister is running the BJP-led government in Goa with the help of two regional allies - the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party - and three Independents.