Shah, Modi can't make Parrikar resign, fearing Rafale exposure

The Congress on Sunday alleged that top BJP leaders including President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "no courage" to ask ailing Manohar Parrikar to step down as Chief Minister of Goa, because Parrikar, a former Defence Minister, had a lot of information about the Rafale deal.

Goa Congress President Girish Chodankar made the charge soon after Shah tweeted, that the ailing Parrikar, who is being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for a week now, would continue as Chief Minister of Goa.

"Parrikar must be having a lot of information about the Rafale deal, because he was the Defence Minister that time. Parrikar is refusing to resign and they have no courage to ask for his resignation, because of the Rafale deal, because it is a huge scam, where PM is directly involved.

"I think Parrikar is using them now (and saying) if you ask for my resignation, I will expose you in the Rafale deal. They (Shah and Modi) are being blackmailed," Chodankar alleged at a press conference at the party's state headquarters in Panaji.

Earlier in the day, Shah in a tweet finally lent a bit of clarity to the ongoing leadership crisis arising from Parrikar's recurring hospitalization for nearly seven months now in hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and now Delhi.

"After discussions with the core team of the Goa state BJP, a decision has been taken that Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar will continue as a leader. Changes in the state government ministerial portfolios will happen soon," Shah said in his tweet.

Chodankar, however, has claimed, that the decision to continue with an ailing CM, who has been admitted to the Delhi hospital for a week now, only shows the "pure arrogance" of the party.

--IANS

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