Parikar had served as the defense minister in the Modi cabinet since 2014 and had to resign in March 2017 after he was elected as the Chief Minister of Goa. (File)
Good wishes and blessings poured in for newly-appointed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from all over. Former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also congratulated the leader and said that her appointment was a well thought out decision. “Very excellent, well thought out decision. Nirmala is very analytical, deep thinking, hard working and very knowledgeable,” Parrikar was quoted as saying by ANI.
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The Goa Chief Minister also took to his Twitter account to congratulate Sitaraman on becoming India’s first full fledged woman Defence Minister.”Many congratulations to @nsitharaman Ji on becoming India’s next & first full time woman Defence Minister. Wish her all the best,” he tweeted. Parikar had served as the defense minister in the Modi cabinet since 2014 and had to resign in March 2017 after he was elected as the Chief Minister of Goa.
Parikar had served as the defence minister in the Modi cabinet since 2014 and had to resign in March 2017 after he was elected as the Chief Minister of Goa.
Many congratulations to @nsitharaman Ji on becoming India’s next & first full time woman Defence Minister. Wish her all the best.
— Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) September 3, 2017
The decision of giving Sitaraman the defence portfolio has garnered appreciation from various political leaders. Earlier in the day, Arun Jaitley, who had been at the helm of the Defence Ministry, also expressed his trust in Sitaraman and called the decision as a very significant landmark in the reshuflle.
He said that he has an “extremely competant successor” in Sitaraman and she will carry the road forward. Jaitley added that Sitaraman’s appointment is a case where a minister performs well and earns a higher responsibility for herself.
58-year-old Nirmala Sitharaman became the second woman to assume the charge of the Defense Ministry as former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had also held the portfolio in the seventies. Sitharaman said that she was “overwhelmed and humbled” by the responsibility that has been given to her, pledging to serve the country to the best of her abilities. “I am just overwhelmed and humbled. I can serve the country with something which is constantly on the top of my mind,” she said.
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