Newly sworn-in Goa Chief Minster Pramod Sawant's wife said on Tuesday that her husband's predecessor, the late Manohar Parrikar, was like a father figure to the couple.

"It is a day of mixed emotions for us. We have lost one of our greatest leaders, Manohar Parrikar who was like a father figure to us. Only because of his (Parrikar) blessings and guidance this could have happened," Sulakshana Sawant, who also heads the BJP's women's wing in Goa, told the media after the swearing in ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan post Monday midnight.

"More than the joy, the sense of great responsibility we feel right now is greater," she said.

Pramod Sawant, the former Speaker of Goa legislative Assembly, was sworn in as the coastal state's 11th Chief Minister following Parrikar's death on Sunday evening due to advanced pancreatic cancer.

--IANS

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