Panaji: On Sunday, the four-time Chief Minister of Goa and former defence minister Manohar Parrikar, 63, passed away after a prolonged battle with an advanced pancreatic ailment. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had been ailing since February 2018 and was treated in various hospitals in Goa, Mumbai and New York. The health of Parrikar, a technocrat-turned-politician, took a turn for worse in the past two days during which he had been on life support.
Here it is to be noted that Parrikar breathed his last at 6.40 pm on March 17, at his son's home in Panaji. The announcement of his death was made by President Ram Nath Kovind in a statement on Twitter. President Kovind was the first to condole his death followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and different political leaders cutting across party lines. Congress president Rahul Gandhi eulogized Parrikar as one of the Goa's favourite sons who was widely respected cutting across the political spectrum. PM Modi condoling Parrikar's death said "India will be eternally grateful to Shri Manohar Parrikar for his tenure as our Defence Minister. When he was RM, India witnessed a series of decisions that enhanced India’s security capacities, boosted indigenous defence production and bettered the lives of ex-servicemen,".
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However, the Centre declared national mourning day on March 18 and the Goa government declared seven days of mourning in the state from March 18 till March 24. Parrikar had returned to Goa on October 14 last year after which he was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi for a month. Parrikar had been undergoing treatment at his residence in Panaji ever since. The 63-year-old leader was widely accepted and respected across BJP. He was born on December 13, 1955, into a middle-class family. He began his political life as an RSS pracharak and continued working for the outfit even after graduating from IIT-Bombay as a metallurgical engineer.
In 1994, Parrikar made entry into electoral politics by winning on a BJP ticket from Panaji constituency. He served as India's defence minister from November 2014 to March 2017 in PM Modi's cabinet. The senior BJP leader’s absence due to his ill health had created a leadership vacuum in the state, with the coalition partners of the BJP fighting amongst themselves for the top post. One of BJP's allies in Goa government, Goa Forward Party's Vijai Sardesai said, "we had given support to Manohar Parrikar not BJP. Now that he is not anymore, options are open. We want stability in Goa, we don't want the dissolution of House. We'll wait for the decision at the BJP legislature meeting and then take the next step. Parrikar headed a coalition government comprising of the BJP, the Goa Forward Party, the MGP and Independents. His death will necessitate a fourth bypoll in the state in Panaji along with constituencies of Shiroda, Mandrem and Mapusa due on April 23.
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