Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai today quoted the Bible to liken ailing Chief

Minister Manohar Parrikar to none other than Jesus Christ over his penchant for
"building bridges".

"In the Bible, there is a quote saying that man should build bridges, not walls. Jesus
built bridges, not walls. You need to build bridges. Manohar Parrikar is a person who
builds bridges," Mr Sardesai said during a congratulatory motion moved by BJP
legislator Rajesh Patnekar in the state assembly. He was referring to the Manohar
Parrikar-led government's successful completion of a new cable-stayed bridge called
Atal Setu, inaugurated on January 27.

Mr Sardesai, however, did not cite the exact Biblical verse from which he had drawn the
quote.

The legislator then went on to say that Mr Parrikar builds metaphorical bridges too, in
terms of connections with people and organisations. "Besides technological marvels,
Manohar Parrikar builds bridges with people who are positive," he claimed.

The 63-year-old BJP politician is suffering from a pancreatic ailment, for which he will be
flown to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences this evening for a regular
health check-up. "He is expected to remain there for the next four days," a senior official
in the Chief Minister's Office said.