Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was accorded a state funeral with a 21-gun salute on Miramar beach on Monday. Parrikar died on Sunday after battling pancreatic cancer.
The Congress met Governor Mridula Sinha on Monday to stake claim to form government in the state. However, state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar said a new chief minister would be sworn later on Monday.
Goa will observe a period of mourning for a week, during which the national flag will fly at half-mast on all buildings across the state. Thousands of people joined the procession to Miramar beach, where the funeral was held.
Here is how the day unfolded:
10.24 pm: Maharashtrawad Gomantak Party leader Sudin Dhavalikar reaches Cidade De Goa, reports The Indian Express. Senior BJP leaders, including Nitin Gadkari, are present there.
9.30 pm: The swearing-in ceremony of the next chief minister of Goa will be held at 11 pm today, ANI reports.
8.57 pm: Ministers Dipak Pauskar and Babu Azgaonkar break away from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and join BJP, reports Herald Goa. Pauskar confirms talks are still on, but says Sudin Dhavalikar, who is reportedly being considered for the post of deputy chief minister, is not traceable.
8.47 pm: Shah says Gadkari will “clear the path for formation of a new government” after speaking to leaders of all parties and together they will meet the governor to stake claim to form the government. “And like the Parrikar govt, the new BJP govt will serve the people of Goa,” says Shah.
8.45 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah says Union minister Nitin Gadkari is in talks with coalition partners – Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party – and independent MLAs, reports The Indian Express. “In a short while the decision of selecting Goa’s new Chief Minister will be finalised,” he says.
8.19 pm: Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar will be deputy chief ministers, an unidentified BJP functionary tells PTI.
8.17 pm: Unidentified officials say BJP has chosen Speaker Pramod Sawant to be the next chief minister of Goa, reports PTI. However, there has been no official confirmation from the party.
6.52 pm: Goa BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar dismisses reports on Speaker Pramod Sawant being named chief minister, reports ANI. “My name has come up as well [for the post of CM], a lot of names will keep coming up, we will have a meeting to decide [the CM], it will be decided today for sure,” he says.
6.43 pm: Ambassadors of the US and Russia to India, Kenneth Juster and Nikolay Kudashev condole Manohar Parrikar’s death. “He [Parrikar] was greatly respected by the United States, and his loss will be deeply felt,” Juster tweeted.
6.30 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah, Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Goa BJP legislators arrive at a hotel in Panaji to discuss the selection of the next chief minister, reports ANI. Speaker Pramod Sawant, who is a frontrunner for the post, is also attending the meeting
6.12 pm: Thousands gather at Miramar beach to pay respects to Manohar Parrikar, reports PTI.
5.59 pm: Manohar Parrikar’s elder son, Utpal Parrikar, lights the funeral pyre on Miramar beach, reports NDTV. Parrikar’s funeral rites were held next to the memorial of Goa’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar.
5.56 pm: Manohar Parrikar is being accorded a state funeral with military honours at Miramar beach, reports News18.
5.40 pm: Manohar Parrikar given a 21-gun salute by the Indian Navy, reports India Today.
5.34 pm: Manohar Parrikar will be accorded a state funeral with military honours, reports The Indian Express.
5.32 pm: Defence forces hand over the Indian tricolour to Manohar Parrikar’s family members at Miramar beach, reports India Today.
5.27 pm: Manohar Parrikar’s funeral cortege reaches Miramar beach, where the final rites will be performed, reports Hindustan Times. Public chants “Manohar Parrikar amar rahe”.
BJP chief Amit Shah pay his tribute to Parrikar at Miramar beach.
5.22 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states arrive at Miramar beach to pay respects to Manohar Parrikar, reports The Hindu.
5.06 pm: Union minister Nitin Gadkari says the state BJP unit has decided the next chief minister, “but the issue is only with alliance partners”, reports Herald Goa. “I am in Goa till 6 pm and it would be better if we zero down to the consensus before that,” Gadkari says.
5.03 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Manohar Parrikar personified humility, simplicity and compassion. “The good work he has done will be remembered for years to come,” Modi says.
4.58 pm: Goa Deputy Speaker Micheal Lobo says the decision on the next chief minister is more or less is finalised but it needs some fine tuning, reports Herald Goa.
4.38 pm: Thousands join the funeral procession to Miramar beach where Manohar Parrikar will be accorded a state funeral with full military honours, reports News18. Defence personnel also join the procession.
4.30 pm: The funeral procession begins from Kala Academy to Miramar beach, reports Prudent Media.
4.18 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah arrives at Dabolim airport to attend funeral rites of Manohar Parrikar, reports Prudent Media.
3.55 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pays tribute to Manohar Parrikar at Kala Academy, reports Prudent Media.
3.50 pm: Speaker Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane are frontrunners for the chief minister’s post, reports The Indian Express.
3.45 pm: State BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar and party leaders Satish Dhond and Michael Lobo meet Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai at his residence in Panjim, reports Herald Goa. The Goa Forward Party is an ally of the BJP in the state.
The stalemate on the selection of a chief minister continues as the Goa Forward Party and another ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party have both demanded the post of deputy chief minister, reports Prudent Media.
3.41 pm: A funeral procession will be taken out from Kala Academy to Miramar beach at 4 pm, where Manohar Parrikar will be accorded a state funeral at 5 pm.
3.37 pm: Haryana government declares a one-day state mourning on Monday as a mark of respect to Manohar Parrikar, reports PTI quoting an order issued by the state chief secretary’s office. The national flag will fly at half-mast across the state.
3.29 pm: Goa’s Department of Tourism cancel Shigmo festivities scheduled between March 21 and March 24 as the state is observing a period of mourning for a week, reports Hindustan Times. Shigmo is a spring festival celebrated with parades.
3.01 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays respects to Manohar Parrikar, reports ANI. Modi also met Parrikar’s family members in Panaji.
2.51 pm: Union Minister of Commerce Suresh Prabhu and Union Minister Smriti Iran pay their last respects to Manohar Parrikar, reports Prudent Media.
2.48 pm: Congress President Rahul Gandhi and party leaders have observed a two-minute silence at a public rally in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi, paying tribute to Parrikar, reports Herald Goa.
2.44 pm: The Congress, with 14 MLAs, is the single-largest party in the 37-member Assembly. With Parrikar’s death, four vacancies. The BJP has 12 seats at the moment while its allies – the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party – have three seats each. The Nationalist Congress Party has one seat, while there are three independent legislators who support the BJP-led coalition. However, it is not known if the independent MLAs will support a BJP government with a new chief minister.
2.32 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Manohar Parrikar at Kala Academy, reports Prudent Media.
1.50 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Goa to attend the funeral ceremony, reports Prudent Media. According to Herald Goa, he is likely to reach Kala Academy soon.
1.47 pm: However, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, an ally of the BJP, has said that its executive committee will take a call on whether it will continue to support the state government, reports PTI.
1.45 pm: State BJP President Vinay Tendulkar says a new chief minister will sworn in around 3 pm, reports ANI. “CM candidate will be only from BJP, we have the numbers and are currently gather letter from alliance partners,” he says after meeting Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
1.30 pm: A Congress delegation led by Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar meets Governor Mridula Sinha, stakes claim to form government.
1.20 pm: He will be accorded a state funeral at 5 pm at Miramar beach next to the memorial of Goa’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar.
1.15 pm: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s body was taken from his residence to the office in Panaji and then to the Kala Academy. The body will remain there for people to pay homage, till around 4 pm.