Rahul Gandhi must not politicise courtesy meet with Parrikar: Goa Minister

On Tuesday, Gandhi, during a surprise visit to the Goa Assembly, had a brief close-door meeting with the ailing Chief Minister Parrikar

A day after Rahul Gandhi claimed former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told him he was not involved in the new Rafale deal, Goa Minister Mauvin Godinho said on Wednesday the Congress chief should not politically capitalise the goings-on of the one-to-one meeting held in the spirit of civil courtesy.

"When we extend civil courtesies to each other, we may belong to different political parties, it should remain at that. One should not inject politics into it.

"Now if big leaders start getting politics into such things also, I think it is not the right thing to do," the Protocol Minister told reporters at the Assembly complex.

On Tuesday, Gandhi, during a surprise visit to the Assembly, had a brief close-door meeting with Goa's ailing Chief Minister Parrikar.

While Gandhi did not speak to waiting journalists, he subsequently tweeted: "This morning I visited Goa CM, Manohar Parrikar, to wish him a speedy recovery. It was a personal visit."

Hours later, Gandhi flew to Kerala and in his Kochi address to party workers said Parrikar had told him that he, as the Defence Minister, had nothing to do with the Rafale deal.

"One should realise that when you come to enquire about a person's health, it should be limited to that," the Goa Minister said.