New Delhi:
With demise of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost yet another staunch Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue on Sunday. Parrikar, 63, breathed his last at his private residence at Dona Paula near Panaji, after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer, this evening. The former defence minister's health, which has been fluctuating for a year, took a turn for the worse in the past two days.
Known for his humility and simple lifestyle, Parrikar always stressed on the need to educate people to be humble and down-to-earth. His humility had not changed a bit in his journey from being a RSS pracharak to the defence minister of the nation. Even during his stint as Goa Chief Minister, Parrikar travelled in economy class and moved around without security personnel. After becoming the Defence Minister of India, Parrikar was given a Z category security but there was not a single occasion when he is seen doing show off.
Extremely sorry to hear of the passing of Shri Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, after an illness borne with fortitude and dignity. An epitome of integrity and dedication in public life, his service to the people of Goa and of India will not be forgotten #PresidentKovind
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) March 17, 2019
Manohar Parrikar's life at a glance:
-Born in Goa's Mapusa, Parrikar completed his secondary education in Marathi and went on to graduate in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay).
-Parrikar is the first IIT Graduate to become Chief Minister of a state in India. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2001.
-Parrikar joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a young age and became a mukhya shikshak (chief instructor) in the final years of his schooling.
-As a member of the BJP, Parrikar was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Goa in 1994. He was leader of the opposition from June to November 1999. He successfully contested the election to become Chief Minister of Goa for the first time on 24 October 2000, but his tenure lasted only until 27 February 2002. On 5 June 2002, he was re-elected and served another term as Chief Minister.
-It was parrikar, who proposed the name of Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate before the 2013 BJP parliamentary elections convention in Goa.
-In November 2014, Parrikar was chosen as the Minister of Defence replacing Arun Jaitley, who, till then, held the additional charge of the Ministry.
-On March 14, 2017, Parrikar was again sworn in as Chief Minister of Goa. Hen also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
-Parrikar is survived by two sons- Utpal, who is an Electrical Engineering graduate from Michigan State University and Abhijat, who is a local businessman. His wife Medha died in 2001.
