Manohar Parrikar's video message: Will be back in Goa in few weeks

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a video message today that he would return to his home state in the "next few weeks" from the US, where he has been undergoing medical treatment since March.

The video message was played at a BJP workers' meeting addressed by party president Amit Shah.

Manohar Parrikar said he could not attend the party workers' meeting because of his ill health.

The Goa chief minister asked the cadres to get ready for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and said the country needed Narendra Modi as prime minister again.

Parrikar, 62, has been undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at a hospital in the US. He was initially treated at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital.

In the absence of the chief minister, a three-member advisory committee, comprising cabinet ministers, is looking after the day-to-day affairs of the government. 

The Congress has demanded the appointment of a "full-time" chief minister for the coastal state in Mr Parrikar's absence.