New Delhi: He is an IIT Bombay alumnus, and a former RSS pracharak. Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who is likely to take over as defence minister, is not only close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but was also the first BJP leader who took on party veteran L.K. Advani by rooting for Mr Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. He came out openly in support of Mr Modi being made the BJP’s face for the last general elections.
Mr Parrikar also hit the headlines when he reportedly compared Mr Advani to a “rancid pickle”. Mr Advani was the only stumbling block to Mr Modi’s rise in the saffron outfit.
Of course, Mr Parrikar later denied and said that he was “misquoted” by the media and that he never ever made this comparison.
Mr Parrikar’s inclusion was not exactly a surprise. His name was doing the rounds for quite some time. Even when Arun Jaitley, in the initial stages, hinted that the defence ministry was only an “additional charge”, there was speculation over Mr Parrikar’s name.
Sources revealed that a few months back when Mr Modi had asked Mr Parrikar to shift to Delhi, he reportedly wanted to stay put in Goa. But this time, when Mr Modi and BJP president Amit Shah repeated the offer, Mr Parrikar could not refuse.
Mr Parrikar has been chosen not merely for his administrative skills and clean image, but also for being a leader who can take bold decisions. Moreover, with the defence ministry up for major modernisation and arms acquisition, the Prime Minister would want someone who is also seen as “incorruptible”.
Moreover, following reports about regular skirmishes at the LoC and the LAC, Mr Modi would need someone who could “stand up to the challenges”.
If he gets charge of the defence ministry, Mr Parrikar would be part of Mr Modi’s Big Five as part of the Cabinet Committee on Security. The top four members include the Prime Minister himself, home minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and finance minister Arun Jaitley.
