'No positivity' about Parrikar's health: Goa Dy Speaker

 There is "no positivity" about health condition of ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently admitted in the AIIMS in New Delhi, BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo said on Friday.

Lobo, who is considered close to Parrikar in political circles here, said the former Defence Minister's hearing faculties have also been impacted of late.

"He can hear less, it seems now... We all are praying that he comes out of his sickness. But till today (Friday), there is no positivity about his coming out," Lobo told reporters on the sidelines of a protest meet organised by a pro-mining resumption lobby.

Parrikar, who is being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer, has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and now the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital since February this year, when his illness was diagnosed.

His prolonged absence from Goa has invited criticism from the opposition and the civil society, who have demanded that he should resign in order to make way for a fully-fit Chief Minister who could efficiently discharge his official duties.

Several top BJP leaders, as well as the Chief Minister's Office have, however, maintained that Parrikar is suffering from a pancreas-related health ailment and his health is improving.
- IANS