TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The incursions and border killings by Pakistan-backed militants may be on the top of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s work agenda, but his mind and heart is still packed in Goa. In the 30 days that he has been Defence Minister (he was sworn in on November 10), he has been in Goa for 14 days, which makes it once every two days
Whether it is “home sickness” or power of “Super CM”, the visits are likely to continue as the month of December progresses. He is scheduled to arrive today to grace his “boy” Mickky Pacheco’s birthday celebrations followed by his own birthday on December 13. He will also deliberate with the party and take a final decision on the candidate for the Panjim by-polls to fill the vacancy created by his departure.
The former Chief Minister’s first and so far, the lengthiest visit was for five days soon after being sworn in as Defence Minister on November 10. He was given a grand welcome by BJP local unit on November 12, wherein he addressed workers in two separate meetings held in Panjim and Dabolim. During his visit, he held series of meetings with Parsekar, Cabinet ministers and others over portfolio distribution and cabinet expansion.
While two new Ministers – Avertano Furtado and Francisco and Mickky’ Pacheco – were inducted in the Parsekar cabinet on December 15 in presence of Parrikar, portfolio distribution was done on the very same evening at a grand dinner hosted by Chief Minister.
November 14 was the day kept open for public, who came in large numbers to congratulate and bless their beloved ‘bhai’ for his national role. Parrikar left on November 16, only to come back on November 20 for the inaugural ceremony of International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The Defence Minister was the special invitee, who stayed tune in Goa for next three days. During this period, he disposed of the small matter of resigning as MLA
Parrikar, left on the night of November 22 after a four day sojourn, two days before the Winter Session of Parliament started. This was incidentally his first session as Union Minister. He returned back on November 29 only to attend the closing ceremony of IFFI on November 30. He left the same night
In the very first week of December, he came back for three days – December 5, 6 and 7 – for a literary pursuit among other things. He released a book on the 2014 elections by Rajdeep Sardesai. The book release function in Goa on December 5 took place hours after terrorist struck in Jammu and Kashmir. On December 6, he had meetings with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza and PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar on the Zuari bridge project. On December 7, before returning he visited Old Goa to seek blessings of the relics of St Francis Xavier.
The opposition in Goa, seizing the opportunity ridiculed him, though the remarks have come from light weight politicians. Gurudas Kamat, a former GPCC spokesperson, now in political wilderness said, “If India’s Defence Minister can spare two days a week “chilling” in Goa, there was something seriously amiss. It is a full-time job. The country does not want a part-timer in that position.”
