Cannot share Parrikar's health update: Goa Minister

 Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said he could not share any update on ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's current condition.

"I cannot give his (Parrikar's) update. The Chief Minister is unwell and it is the prerogative of the family to give information. It is not for the Minister for Health," Rane told the media here.

Parrikar has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and Delhi since February after he was detected with advanced pancreatic cancer. 

His refusal to give up the Chief Ministerial chair coupled with his prolonged absence from office has attracted criticism from the Opposition, civil society as well as ruling coalition partners, who have demanded an alternative to Parrikar.

Rane also said that one should pray and believe in miracles.

"Always believe that miracles can happen. In any ailment people (sometimes) get better by defying medical science. So let us just hope and pray."

According to Rane, Parrikar's health was being constantly monitored by state government doctors as well as medical professionals from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi and a health facility in New York, where the former Defence Minister was also admitted for several months.
-IANS