Manohar Parrikar Was Considering AYUSH Treatment, Says Minister

Panaji: Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently undergoing advanced treatment for pancreatic cancer in a New York hospital, was in touch with some specialist AYUSH doctors, before his medical condition reached a stage of "emergency" and he had to leave for the US, a Union Minister said on Saturday.

"He was in talks with some of our specialist doctors, but in the midst of this he had to leave in an emergency," Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik told a press conference in Panaji on Saturday, adding that Mr Parrikar "believed" in the efficacy of AYUSH treatment.

Mr Naik, a Lok Sabha member from North Goa and Mr Parrikar's political peer in the state, said he had personally spoken to Mr Parrikar to try AYUSH treatment to cure his ailment.

Mr Parrikar is currently undergoing advanced treatment for pancreatic cancer in a New York hospital. He was shifted to the US in March, a month after he was first admitted in a Mumbai hospital for stomach pain, which was subsequently diagnosed as pancreatic cancer.

AYUSH stands for alternative forms of medicine, including Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Sidda and Homoeopathy, which are being aggressively promoted by the centre's National Democratic Alliance government as alternatives to the allopathic medicine.