Panaji, Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is being projected as a ‘He-Man or Superman’ by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and made to pose in staged photo-shoots, the Congress said on Wednesday, chiding the former Defence Minister for skipping the 57th Goa Liberation Day Parade.

“The BJP is only indulging in staged photo sessions and they are projecting the CM of Goa as a ‘He-Man or Superman’. Parrikar had the time and fitness to inspect an under-construction bridge with doctors alongside him, but could not be present to hoist the tricolour on Goa Liberation Day. That is a really sad state of affairs,” Congress spokesperson Urfan Mulla told reporters on Wednesday.

The Congress on Monday had dared the 63-year-old Chief Minister to hoist the national flag on the occasion of the state Liberation Day, a day after Parrikar on Sunday made his first public appearance in nearly two months, when he, accompanied by a medical team, inspected an under-construction bridge near Panaji.

Parrikar’s public appearance on Sunday comes at a time when the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court is due to pronounce its order on a petition which seeks making the health status of the ailing Chief Minister public.

Parrikar is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer and has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and Delhi for nearly nine months. The Opposition has demanded Parrikar’s resignation on account of his prolonged ill-health.

Earlier at the Liberation Day parade on Wednesday, Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Pramod Sawant stood in for Parrikar.

“Goa CM Manohar Parrikar could not attend the assembly because of health issues. Therefore I am reading his speech in his absence,” Sawant said.

The Speaker also extolled freedom fighters who had to struggle and, in some cases, pay with their life for liberating Goa from the Portuguese. He also expressed his indebtedness to the Indian armed forces for liberating Goa.

“Indian freedom struggle was incomplete until Goa was eventually freed from 450 years of oppressive Portuguese rule. Portugal used religion to divide and rule to retain power in Goa,” Sawant said, while extolling the achievements of the state in the fields of health, education, infrastructure, since liberation.

Sawant also encouraged Goans to make the state plastic and garbage free.

Belagavi  Ahead of the cabinet expansion of the coalition government in the state on December 22, several party legislators are lobbying for their inclusion with party’s leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said an official.

“Many legislators, including senior leaders have urged Siddaramaiah to recommend them to the party high command for the six cabinet posts vacant from the party’s quota in the 6-month-old JD(S)-Congress government,” a party official told IANS here on Tuesday.

As Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, Siddaramaiah discussed the cabinet expansion and appointment of chairmen of boards and corporations with about 70 legislators on short-listing some of them for approval by party President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on December 21.

“Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara of the Congress will submit the list of names finalised at the CLP meeting to ensure regional balance and fair representation of them region and caste wise,” said the official from the state’s northwest city, about 500km northwest of Bengaluru.

Among the senior legislators – HK Patil, MB Patil, Ramalinga Reddy and Roshan Baig were left out of the cabinet, formed in June after two parties forged an alliance following a hung verdict in the May 12 Assembly elections.

In the 34-member ministry, the Congress made 15 of its 80 legislators cabinet ministers while the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) filled 9 out of 11 posts as part of its quota.

“As all the legislators, including seniors cannot be accommodated in the ministry due to the 34-member limit, some of them have been shortlisted for posts of state-run boards and corporations.

As per the worked-out formula, the Congress is entitled to 20 of the 30 state-run boards and corporations and JD-S the remaining 10 posts.

The cabinet expansion is slated to take place in Bengaluru after the 10-day winter session of the state legislature concludes on Friday here.

“Heads of boards and corporations will be named after the cabinet expansion,” added the official.

Mumbai, Veteran actress and wife of Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, hopes that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will stick to his promise with regard to resolving a property dispute with builder Samir Bhojwani.

Interacting with mediapersons here on Tuesday, Saira Banu said she had sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was here on Tuesday to discuss the issue following the builder’s release from jail.

Bhojwani had falsely claimed ownership of the two plots on which Kumar’s bungalow is built. The 96-year-old actor’s bungalow is located in the upscale Pali Hill area of suburban Bandra.

Saira Banu’s request for a meeting with PM was shared on Dilip Kumar’s official Twitter account. “Request from Saira Banu Khan: The Hon’ble @PMOIndia Shri @narendramodi Sir, Land Mafia Samir Bhojwani released from jail. No action taken despite assurances by CM @Dev_Fadnavis. Padma Vibhushit betrayed, threatened by money and muscle power. Request meeting with you in #Mumbai,” the tweet read.

Banu had also tagged Fadnavis in her tweet. 

When asked about the star couple’s apprehension following Bhojwani’s release, Fadnavis told the media that he will speak to them and try to sort out the issue.

According to Saira Banu, Prime Minister Modi has directed Fadnavis to study and sort out the issue as soon as possible.

“We are hopeful that the Prime Minister will look into the matter and I hope our kind Chief Minister will also look into it and take due action. For the last three months, the CM has been promising me that he will talk to Bhojwani and resolve the issue. I hope he will stick to his words and do the needful.”

Giving details about the dispute, Saira Banu said: “We have been facing this court dispute and harassment by Samir Bhojwani for the last 10-12 years. This man (Samir Bhojwani) is an expert at land grabbing, forgery and fraudulent cases. He is doing these things because he has muscle power and money. He has big political connections, and therefore, no one is willing to take action against him.”

Saira Banu also stated that Bhojwani has violated BMC guidelines but they have not taken any action against him. 

“Earlier, he wanted to build a cottage for his sister in front of our residence. At that time, we gave him permission. After that, we went out of Mumbai for two-three months and when we returned, we saw that he had built a two-three storey building instead of a cottage, and while doing so he had violated BMC rules but no one has taken any kind of action against him.”

Stating that Dilip Kumar’s residence is a famous landmark in Bandra, Saira Banu said, “The entire world knows that this is Dilip Kumar saab’s residence so how can he trespass on that land? He knows that Dilip saab has health issues and because of all this stress his health has deteriorated even more.”

Saira Banu added that Dilip Kumar has an emotional attachment with his house. “It is his only house and we all are emotionally attached to it. Dilip saab’s younger sister and brother have grown up in this house.

“He hasn’t worked in 300 films that he can afford to invest in properties. In his entire film career, he has hardly been part of 56 good films. He is a man who has contributed a lot for his country through his art.” 

In December 2017, Saira Banu had lodged a police complaint alleging that Bhojwani was threatening and harassing her and Dilip Kumar over the property. Following the complaint, the Mumbai police had arrested Bhojwani.

 BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal on Wednesday slammed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for his claims that influx of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrants deprived state youth of employment opportunities and demanded that he be summoned to Parliament to apologise.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Jaiswal, who represents Paschim Champaran constituency of Bihar, said the newly elected Chief Minister should apologise, as he himself is from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur city and yet made such a statement.

“Kamal Nath has tried to divide the country on the basis of region. The House must condemn it. He should be summoned to the Parliament and asked to apologise,” Jaiswal said.

Kamal Nath has been at the centre of a storm over his government’s decision that only those industries which employ 70 per cent local youth could avail incentives from the state.

“People from states like Bihar and UP come here and local people don’t get jobs…,” he had said at his first press conference as Chief Minister.

Following which he faced criticism left, right and centre.

Kamal Nath, who took oath as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on December 17, is a nine time Member of Parliament from Chhindwara. He has not yet resigned from Lok Sabha.