The Goa Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Sunday issued a statement clarifying that a “letter of repentance and introspection” being circulated on social media attributing it to ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at the end to make it look like authored by him was “not authentic but a mischief.”
“It has been observed that many messages are floating on social media, attributing it to the Chief Minister’s authorship. Such messages are not authentic and (are) mischievous. All messages of CM @manoharparrikar will be communicated directly by him or through his verified social media handles only,” the CMO said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The letter which appears to be styled after yet another hoax letter, which was circulated soon after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ demise in 2011, went viral on the social media from last week and has content which though apparently looked “seriously ailing Mr. Parrikar’s reflections from hospital bed,” subtly it makes him look “repenting for wrong doings while in power.”
Earlier, on Thursday when The Hindu brought this to the notice of a senior CMO official, he said it is a hoax and said, “Just ignore it and ask whoever posts it to you not to forward it as it is mischievous.”
However, as the post started going viral on social media platforms, the CMO opted to clarify the issue through a tweet as well as a statement issued on Sunday.
This is not the first time that the CMO had to issue clarifications over Mr. Parrikar’s health from the time he was admitted to State-run Goa Medical College here on February 15 for abdominal pain. A police case also stands registered against some unknown miscreants for making a false post on social media about Mr. Parrikar naming a senior BJP leader while he was shifted to Leelavati hospital, Mumbai for the first time.
He was later shifted to Leelavati hospital for the second time with CMO consistently claiming it was to treat ailments associated with mild pancreatitis.
He was finally shifted from Leelavati to a New York-based medical facility. The CMO has maintained that Mr. Parrikar is responding to treatment and will go through the second phase of his treatment.
On Sunday evening, another statement issued here by Speaker Pramod Sawant said that Mr. Parrikar spoke to him on Sunday and sought an update on the goings-on in state administration.
“CM took an update of general and administrative matters in Goa. He also informed the Speaker that he’s starting with a second phase of treatment from tomorrow (Monday). He has also appealed to the people of Goa not to believe in rumours about his health being spread by vested interests,” the statement issued by Speaker Sawant said.
