Manohar Parrikar Responding Well to Treatment, Don’t Believe Rumours: Lilavati Hospital

Mumbai: Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai where Manohar Parrikar is admitted has refuted rumours that the Goa chief minister had to undergo surgery and said that he is responding well to treatment.

Rumours are afloat on WhatsApp that Parrikar has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer and was operated upon, but those close to the former defence minister say that he has been admitted to treat pancreatitis, or an inflamed pancreas. According to sources, he is in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital.

The hospital in a statement on Sunday evening, said, “It has been brought to our notice, various malicious and misleading report/rumours are floating around in Electronic/Print media with regards to the health of Hon. Chief Minister of Goa. We categorically deny all such rumours. We reiterate that he is being treated and is responding well to the treatment."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a daylong visit to Mumbai, took time out of his scheduled engagements to meet Parrikar and enquire about his health.

Parrikar was admitted in the Mumbai hospital on February 15. He is being treated by oncologist P Jagannath. He will miss the Budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly beginning on Monday owing to his ill health.

The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Assembly will meet Monday after the customary address of Governor Mridula Sinha, deputy Speaker Michael Lobo said.

"We will curtail the session to three days considering ill health of the chief minister," Lobo said. Earlier, the session was supposed to culminate mid-March.

Due to proposed rescheduling, the Budget would be tabled on February 20 instead of February 21 and the Vote on Account would be passed on the last day of the session i.e February 21, he said.

When asked whether Parrikar would be attending the session, Lobo said the doctors have asked him not to attend the House. It is not clear who would present the Budget in absence of Parrikar.

Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said the Opposition parties have no reservations if the session is curtailed as the chief minister is genuinely ill.