Panaji, Jan 19 (TOI): The Congress on Friday said its MLAs would raise an objection during the forthcoming assembly session if ailing chief minister Manohar Parrikar deliberately avoids opposition leader Chandrakant Kavlekar at the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting.

State Congress president Girish Chodankar said, while Parrikar had the time and energy to meet BJP MLAs and inspect the under construction cable-stayed Mandovi bridge, the CM refused to give opposition leaders an appointment.

The BAC meeting is scheduled for Monday. The BAC will decide on the agenda for the three-day session that begins on January 29. Parrikar and Kavlekar are members of the BAC.

“Parrikar has been skipping office regularly, but he goes on the bridge and meets people. He refuses to meet the leader of opposition, what kind of nautanki is this?” Chodankar said.

While Chodankar did not spell out the Congress Legislative Party’s (CLP) plan, he did indicate that the opposition could protest in the House and disrupt proceedings.

“If he dodges meeting the leader of the opposition on Monday during the BAC meeting, then the Congress MLAs will raise the issue of his inaccessibility in the assembly,” he said.

Parrikar is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer and has been in and out of hospitals since February 2018.

In October, Congress MLAs sought an appointment with Parrikar.