Goa CM Manohar Parrikar returns to action; Chairs meeting of his state's investment board  

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar made his return to action a day ahead of schedule on Tuesday by holding a meeting of the Goa Investment Promotion Board (GoaIPB).

The meeting was attended by a number of his ministers and was convened at his residence in state capital Panaji, where on Wednesday he is also scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting.

The Goa IPB meeting witnessed approval being granted for seven projects which are cumulatively expected to garner an investment to the tune of Rs 230 crore and create jobs for 400 people in the state. IT Minister Rohan Khaunte and Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar were among the officials who attended the meeting.

On Monday, Republic World had accessed the official memorandum detailing a seven-point agenda for the cabinet meeting that Parrikar is set to convene on Wednesday.

The cabinet meeting will be his first in two months and the list of agenda items made clear that Parrikar has the upcoming general elections in mind. 

Read: Goa CM Manohar Parrikar Back In Action; Agenda For First Cabinet Meet Post Health Scare Reveals 2019 Intent. Read full details here:

The former Union Defence Minister has been hampered by health issues in 2018, necessitating a two-month long visit to the US, as well as a month-long stay at AIIMS in New Delhi.

On his return from the US, however, he was quick to take up office again, and the same appears to be the case this time around, with the back-to-back meetings coming within two weeks of his return to Goa from the national capital. 

Over the last few months the opposition Congress has stepped up its politicization of Parrikar's health, including a call for him to disclose the nature of his Pancreatic ailment as well as by seeking the imposition of President's rule in the state. The Congress has also consistently been angling for the Goa Governor to invite it to form a government in the state, raising the result of the 2017 Goa Assembly election that had actually witnessed it emerging as the single-largest party with 17 seats in the 40-seat assembly compared to the BJP's 13. However, Rahul Gandhi's party had been slow on the uptake, allowing the BJP to rally together other parties and incumbents into an alliance. As part of the negotiations, the non-BJP MLAs had demanded that Parrikar returns as the state's Chief Minister, which the IITian duly did.