Ailing Goa CM to attend entire 3-day session of Assembly

Panaji: Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will attend the entire three-day session of the state Assembly that is scheduled to begin on January 29, Speaker Pramod Sawant said on Thursday.

Talking to PTI, Sawant said on the second day of session, Parrikar will present the Budget in the House and then table the vote-on-account for five months. “Parrikar will attend the Assembly session on all three days,” he said. Governor Mridula Sinha will give her customary address to the House on the first day of the session, he added.

Parrikar, who has been suffering from a pancreatic ailment, was admitted to hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and America last year. Ever since his discharge from the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi in October last year, he has been recuperating at his private residence in Goa. The former Defence minister has made a few public appearances.

The CM had chaired Business Advisory Committee meeting earlier this week. Responding to a query, Sawant said BJP MLA Pandurang Madkaikar, who has also been ailing since June last year, is likely to attend the session.

“We are yet to receive any communication from the Madkaikar’s office that he will not be attending the Session,” he said. Meanwhile, the office of the speaker has received total 419 questions for the three-day session, including 137 starred and 282 unstarred questions.

It has also received three government Bills for tabling- The Goa Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Amendment) Bill 2019, The Goa Goods and Services Tax (amendment) bill, 2019 and The Goa Co-operative Societies (amendment) Bill 2019.