Live updates: Goa governor allowing BJP to indulge in horsetrading, claims Congress

MHA joint secretary S K Shahi, in an order issued on Sunday, said the ministry of defence is requested to make arrangements for state funeral with full military honours.

Seven days of state mourning, from March 18 to 24, has been announced as a mark of respect to Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who passed away on Sunday. During the period of state mourning, the National Flag will fly at half mast on all the buildings across Goa where it is regularly flown.

Parrikar’s death brought warring parties together. All along, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) were at each other’s throats, but in a surprise turn of events on Sunday, they put up a united front and held a meeting in Dona Paula. The two regional parties, who have three MLAs each, were joined by three independents.

Coordination between RSS and BJP was first entrusted to me in the nineties. Among the first three to be deputed to the party were Laxmikant Parsekar, Shripad Naik and Rajendra Arlekar, but soon there was need for more. It is here that Manohar (Parrikar) came into the picture.

A master strategist, who could antici­pate other people’s moves and a man of his own, Manohar Parrikar’s chutzpah couldn’t be matched by anyone. You could love him or hate him, but you couldn’t ignore him. Whether he was in the government or outside, Parrikar was synony­mous with BJP and as he took those giant steps, so did the party.

It is very rare to find such upright leaders. He had an excellent academic background of IIT. Everyone in Goa loved him and I was inundated with calls and to the dismay of many, no information was divulged. We got the confirmation and started the treat­ment for a pancreatic ailment. He re­sponded well and tolerated treat­ment.

With Parrikar’s demise, the strength of the Goa assembly is 36 with BJP now having 12 MLAs. With three MLAs each of Maharashtra Gomantak Party and Goa Forward Party and three independents, the coalition just about has a majority in the House.

Terming Parrikar’s demise as “unfortunate”, leader of the opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said BJP “has no allies as of now” as coalition partners had allied with the saffron party on the condition that Parrikar heads the government. “Congress being the single largest party, it is submitted that the leader of the Congress legislative party is invited to form the next government,” he said.