Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar (63), who has been suffering from a pancreatic ailment, at the latter’s chamber in the Assembly complex in Panaji and enquired about his health.
The meeting comes a day after Mr. Gandhi said the “Goa audio tapes”, cited by the Congress to attack the Central government on the Rafale issue, were authentic and Mr. Parrikar was in possession of “explosive secrets” that gave him power over Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Gandhi arrived in the Assembly premises around noon, soon after the House was adjourned after Goa Governor Mridula Sinha’s address, which was boycotted by Congress members.
Meets party MLAs
After meeting Mr. Parrikar, Mr. Gandhi went to the Opposition lobby in the Assembly and held a meeting with his party MLAs for 10 minutes.
The Congress chief refused to talk to waiting mediapersons, saying, “I am getting late.”
Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, who accompanied Mr. Gandhi to meet Mr. Parrikar, said, “It was a courtesy visit to enquire about Parrikar’s health. There was no discussion other than enquiring about his health condition.”
Mr. Kavlekar said Mr. Gandhi had an informal discussion with the party MLAs as he would be arriving in Panaji next month to address party workers.
Mr. Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were on a private visit to Goa.
