Manohar Parrikar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manohar Parrikar

• Does Manohar Parrikar smoke: Not Known

• Does Manohar Parrikar drink alcohol: Not Known

• He became the first IITian to be sworn as Chief Minister of an Indian state. He was the batch mate of a profound Indian entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani.

• Parrikar saw his worst days before he was sworn in as Goa Chief Minister in 2000. His wife could not defeat cancer and collapsed a month before he was to take oath as a CM. He, however, moved on with the management of the province and parenting his two sons.

• Manohar Parrikar believes in simplicity and has been seen riding a bicycle to the Goa Vidhan Sabha. He prefers to travel by public transport.

• During his tenure as the CM of Goa, he did not move to the bigger house, the one allotted by the government, and preferred living in his own house. He did not upgrade his car as well.

• With no charges of corruption to his name, he has been one of the cleanest ministers India has ever had.

• Parrikar in 2009 called LK Advani a rancid pickle and added that his period was over, maybe a couple of years more. He further added that Advani should then mentor the party and be available whenever we need him.

• In late 2014, he got the charge of Defence Minister in the Union Cabinet. With this, he became the first politician from Goa to get such a high rank in the central government. He claims he was shivering on the first day as a defence minister and wasn’t aware of the military ranks prior to joining the post.

• Parrikar has always given straightforward and bold statements with no hesitation which some call harsh and some praise.

• Long before anyone could sense the Modi wave across the country, he backed him to be the BJP’s choice of Prime Minister thus becoming the party’s first member to do so.

• He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

• On 17 March 2019, Mr. Parrikar died of Pancreatic ailment in his hometown- Panaji, Goa.

• Watch the following video for his biography: