Manohar Parrikar-The Man Who Made A Difference

What Just Happened?

17^th March 2018, Goa’s 4 time prime minister and our former Defense Minister Manohar Gopalakrishna Prabhu Parrikar died at the age of 63 in Goa due to pancreatic cancer.

Manohar Gopalakrishna Prabhu Parrikar

An Overview

Manohar Parrikar born in a small village named Parra in Mapusa, Goa on 13 december 1955. He completed his high school from Loyola High School, Margao. He then completed his graduation from IIT Bombay in 1978. He was the first IIT alumina who served as an MLA in State. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the IIT Bombay in 2001.

He joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a very young age and became a mukhya shikshak (chief instructor) during his final year of schooling. After getting graduated from IIT he resumed RSS work in Mapusa.He was a an active member of RSS north Goa unit, and played a very important role in Ram Janmabhoomi Movement.

He was then seconded by RSS to the BJP to fight against the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. As a member of the BJP Parrikar was elected to the legislative assembly of Goa in 1994. 

He successfully contested the election to become Chief Minister of Goa for the first time on 24 October 2000. In 2001, the Parrikar government had turned over fifty-one government primary schools in rural areas to Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the Hindu nationalist group Sangh Parivar, inviting criticism from certain educationists.

He was the reason behind the success of BJP in Goa.

In November 2014, Parrikar was chosen as the Minister of Defence, he replaced Arun Jaitley. Manohar Parrikar, while serving as Minister of Defence of India, raised a question about why India should bind itself to the no first use policy.

On March 14, 2017, Parrikar became the Chief Minister of Goa for the fourth time. He was so loved and liked by the Goa people that the Goa Forward Party led by Vijai Sardesai, one of the parties who allied with BJP in Goa after election results were announced, had said that it would extend support to the BJP only if Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was brought back to the state as Chief Minister.

Here is a remarkable parable written by our former Defence Minister Sri Manohar Parikkar

He was a politician without hatters.A man known for his honesty. The face behind the successful surgical strike.

Now What?

Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members but currently, there are 36 MLAs following the death of BJP legislators, Manohar Parrikar and Francis D'Souza, and the resignation of two congress lawmakers. The congress is trhe largest single party with 14 MLAs.

The former assembly speaker Promod Sawant is now the Chief Minister of Goa.