Goa minister's moving account of Parrikar's last days: 'When man so close to death signed his last file'

Manohar Parrikar, the Goa Chief Minister, lost the long battle to pancreatic cancer on Sunday. He breathed his last at 8:05 pm. The original ‘aam aadmi’ of Indian politics, who was seen with nasal drip due to his treatment, had vowed to work for Goa till his last breath. In a moving account of his last days, Goa Cabinet Minister Vishwajit Rane has now spoken about the very last file that Parrikar signed from Panaji hospital. "Despite being unwell, despite having tubes and bags attached to his body, he continued working. But I never really understood the extent of his dedication until I went to visit him in the hospital recently," Rane was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Talking about the last file Parrikar had signed, Rane said that he visited Parrikar for his signature on a file on hospital care and nutrition. This happened to be very last file that Parrikar had signed. "When a man who's so close to death calls you into his room and says that he wants to carry on working, it becomes evident that he is somebody who thinks of the poor and people in general," the NDTV report quoted Rane as saying.

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The first-ever IITian who became an MLA, Parrikar was known for his down to earth ways. While speaking to a regional channel, Vasant Vasant Limaye, his fellow student at the IIT-Bombay said, "There used to be separate groups among students at IIT-B, those fluent in Marathi and those strong in English. But Manohar could deal with students from such diversified background perfectly," he said. Parrikar had earlier promised his wife that he would quit politics, but after her death, he decided to continue with his political life, Limaye recalled.

"At the time of my book release couple of years ago, I had invited him. Later, I learnt that his son was admitted to a hospital so I assumed that he would not come to my event in Pune. But once he was informed that his son was discharged from hospital, Parrikar attended his Assembly session and reached Pune. I was shocked to see him but was thrilled with his commitment," he said.

(With agency inputs)