BJP leader Vinay Tendulkar: Manohar Parrikar to return in May third week

Manohar Parrikar. File pic

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer in the US, will return home in the third week of May, BJP state President Vinay Tendulkar said on Thursday.

A Bharatiya Janata Party state executive meeting expressed confidence in Parrikar's leadership and slammed the opposition for what it called attempts to engineer political instability in the coastal state.

"The Chief Minister is responding well to treatment. He spoke to me on Wednesday and all key office-bearers of the party. He is coming in the third week of May," Tendulkar told IANS, shortly after the party meeting.

A political resolution was passed at the meeting.

"In spite of health-related issues of our leader Manohar Parrikar, the state administration is working efficiently... there is speedy recovery as regards his ailment. It is expected that he will shortly resume his duties and continue to lead the government and the state," the resolution said.

Parrikar has been unwell since February 15 and was shifted to a New York-based health facility in March, after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

"The BJP state executive strongly denounces opposition parties for trying to destabilise the government in this hour of crisis. The Opposition party (Congress) is not only frustrated but is bereft of any issue to raise against a popular and stable government," it added.