Goa party flays Manohar Parrikar for 'sleeping' during Republic Day parade

PANAJI: A political outfit mentored by former Goa Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Subhash Velingkar on Thursday flayed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar after pictures of him with eyes closed and head drooping during the Republic Day parade in Delhi appeared in the social media.

"The Defence Minister has been found asleep during the Republic Day event -- it is a matter of shame for both India as well as Goa, of which he remained the Chief Minister," Goa Suraksha Manch President Ghanashyam Shirodkar told the media here.

"Parrikar is always in Goa -- campaigning for the BJP even at booth-level meetings. Does this happen anywhere else... when you take too many responsibilities on your shoulders, there is an overload. That is why he was caught sleeping through an important function," Shirodkar said.

The Manch is mentored by Velingkar, who has been critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Parrikar ahead of the February 4 Goa assembly elections.

Pictures of Parrikar, with his eyes shut and drooping head, while attending the Republic Day celebrations on Rajpath in Delhi amid foreign dignitaries and the Services top brass, have gone viral on the social media.

A former Goa Chief Minister, Parrikar was made the Defence Minister in 2014. The BJP leadership has since hinted that Parrikar could be sent back to the state politics after the February 4 polls.