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PANAJI

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that former chief minister the late Manohar Parrikar achieved a great stature in Indian politics not because he was chief minister or defence minister,  but due to his “good deeds and actions”.

Speaking at a condolence meeting for Parrikar held at the Kala Academy on Thursday, Singh said, “His (Parrikar’s) qualities of nobility, simplicity, speaking less and courage will give inspirations for us for years to come. Parrikar was a workaholic and decisive in such a way that the memories of his deeds could become a source of inspirations for the future,” the Union minister reckoned.

“It was his caliber that took him to Delhi as defence minister. He performed his job with all integrity and diligence,” Singh said while narrating the experiences of working with his former cabinet colleague.

The former chief minister of Goa showed a high level of simplicity by leaving the all-important post of defence minister to

serve his state, Singh said, adding that Parrikar wanted to go back to Goa as the state was always on his mind.

It did not matter to Parrikar to leave the post of defence minister to serve a small state like Goa. No other minister would have done it, the Union Home Minister observed.

Recalling Parrikar’s contributions to the military actions at the borders, Singh said that after the Uri terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called his two-three cabinet colleagues.  Anger was visible on Parrikar’s face.

Parrikar played an important role in the 2016 surgical strikes and observed the entire operation all night, he recalled.

The Union minister lauded the role of Parrikar in other two airstrikes.

“You may not know this but he also played a crucial role in two airstrikes,” Singh said.

He also spoke about Parrikar’s contributions to the One Rank One Pension scheme, the induction of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas into the Indian Air Force and the clinching of the Rafale jet deal.

Paying glowing tributes to Parrikar, Governor Mridula Sinha said  that Parrikar will definitely be remembered as state’s most successful politician ever.

Despite his illness, he testified his penchant for not giving up and occasionally attended office and also the opening of the budget session as well as public functions with medical support.

The Governor also shared anecdotes of Parrikar’s simplicity which Sinha  witnessed when she had arrived at the Dabolim airport and the former chief minister had come to receive her.

She said that Parrikar tried to carry her briefcase without revealing his identity.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that he lost his ‘father figure’ in Parrikar.

He appealed to the people to share their memories of Parrikar so that they become  a source of inspirations for the future.

“He will be greatly missed. It is a cruel twist of fate that the leader of the masses and a visionary is no more with us. But he left us with a legacy that has the potential to last for generations… For the past many years we have been illustrating the leadership example of our first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar. But now it will be Parrikar’s life and leadership…,” Sawant stated.

RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said that Hindus believe in rebirth of humankind on the earth, adding that Parrikar would take birth again, until his vision for India is fulfilled.

Joshi said that politicians must introspect on their contributions to the society after they assume power.

Chairman of Dempo Group of Companies Shrinivas V Dempo said that Parrikar’s vision to develop Goa was based on seven elements for  making the state ‘serene’, ‘affluent’, ‘cultured’, ‘balanced’, ‘knowledge-centric’, ‘well-governed’ and ‘happy’.

And these attributes make him different from other leaders, Dempo  said.