New Delhi:
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, a former defence minister who had been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year, died at his private residence near Panaji on Sunday. He was 63.
Since February 2018, Parrikar had been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York.
Despite his falling health, Parrikar had presented two state budgets in 2018 and 2019 and had attended public functions, including the inauguration of an iconic bridge across River Mandovi.
A known fighter, an ailing Parrikar's decision to go for a ride and inspect two upcoming bridges in the state with a feeder tube protruding from one nostril was defining image and sought to suggest he is still in-charge of the state.
In January this year, he had famously said that he “will serve Goa till my last breath”.
Expressing grief on his sad demise, former President Pranab Mukherjee said that Parrikar fought bravely against his disease, and “despite his deteriorating health, he put nation first and worked for it till his last breath”.
Born on December 13, 1955 into a middle-class family, his political career began as an RSS pracharak and he continued working for the Sangh even after graduating from IIT-Bombay as a metallurgical engineer.
Parrikar entered electoral politics in 1994 when he won on a BJP ticket from Panaji constituency.
He was the defence minister from November 2014 to March 2017 during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
