Goa Bharatiya Janata Party leader and state Deputy Assembly Speaker Michael Lobo on Monday said the state will face a political crisis the day the ailing Manohar Parrikar steps down as chief minister. Lobo, who has made several critical statements of Parrikar’s absence, said the chief minister was suffering from an ailment that has no cure.

Parrikar, who is currently undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, tweeted on World Cancer Day, saying: “[The] human mind can overcome any disease.”

Lobo warned of a bleak future. “There will be no political crisis till Manohar Parrikar is in the chief minister’s chair,” the deputy speaker, who represents the Calangute Assembly constituency, told reporters. “But the day he steps down or if something happens to him, there will be a political crisis. He is still living and working with God’s blessings.”

In October, Lobo said the Parrikar-led government had failed to live up to its promises to the people. “I have requested the chief minister to understand that 3,000 job vacancies are awaiting his approval for almost two years,” Lobo had said. “The people of Goa are very upset and enraged.”