Panaji, Jan 19 (IANS): More than a week after being hospitalised following a road accident, Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik gave his first statement to the media on Tuesday and said he was relieved to finally see daylight.

Naik spoke to the media briefly as he was being shifted from the hospital ward to the open campus of the Goa Medical College complex in a wheelchair.

"I have finally managed to see the daylight, thanks to blessings from everyone and God," Naik told the media.

The Minister said he was likely to be discharged from the hospital in "four to five days".

Shripad Naik's wife Vijaya Naik and secretary Deepak Ghume died from injuries after their car met with an accident at Yellapur in Karnataka on January 11 night.

The two other occupants of the car, the driver and the Union Minister's personal security official, were also admitted to the Goa hospital.

Several top politicians, including Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, called Naik to enquire about his health.