New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI): Congress on Saturday hit out at Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for “abdicating” responsibility as Defence Minister and choosing the “cosy confines” of his home state.

The Congress response came after reports quoted Parrikar as saying at a public function in Goa that he quit as Defence Minister as he felt “under pressure” in the national capital.

“Truth is now out. Abdication of duty and responsibility by Defence Minister Parrikar made him go to head the cosy confines of a defector's government in Goa,” Randeep Singh Surjewala, in-charge of the AICC's Communications Department said here.

Parrikar quit as Defence Minister to return as the chief minister of Goa after BJP cobbled up the numbers to form the government despite finishing behind the Congress. Some swift moves by the BJP in winning over regional outfits and independents left Congress leaders, who were hoping to form the government, shocked.

“Honest confession. Was it Kashmir pressure or unfinished business deals in Goa which made Parrikar rob people's mandate in Goa and return,” asked AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who helmed the Congress' election strategy in the coastal state. Congress took to the social media to accuse the BJP of lacking political will to find a solution to the Kashmir issue.

“There is no political will to resolve the Kashmir conflict. How many jawans & civilians are needlessly dying because BJP is running away,” the Congress said on its Twitter handle.

The Kashmir conundrum is not an easy issue to resolve and only a long-term policy can tackle it, Goa Parrikar had said on Friday. “Delhi is not my place. It is not the place I am habituated to. There was a lot of pressure on me,” he had said.