Podcast | Parrikar’s Politics, Personality & His Famous Scooter

Journalists share anecdotes on Manohar Parrikar’s politics, his grounded behaviour and his famous scooter. Tune in!

Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar passed away on 17 March after battling pancreatic cancer for a while.

(Photo: The Quint)

Today's podcast is not so much of a news highlight, rather it's about a person — former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to be precise, who as you all know passed away yesterday after battling pancreatic cancer for a while.

For this podcast, I called up a three journalists who shared anecdotes about Manohar Parrikar’s politics, his down-to-earth behaviour and his famous scooter. Tune in!

Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai recalled a certain incident from 2012, when Parrikar was chosen CNN-News18 Indian of the Year. He travelled on economy class of his own accord and refused any government funding for his visit to Delhi.

“I think somethings changed in the last two years…the nature of the coalition government that he formed led him to make a lot of compromises in the pursuit of power, so I think you have to look at Manohar Parrikar before he came to Delhi.”

Rajdeep Sardesai, Senior Journalist

Parrikar couldn't stick around Delhi for long. He was given the prestigious portfolio of the Defense Ministry, but after 3 years in Delhi he handed over the ministry to Nirmala Sitharaman and plunged right back into Goa’s politics and became the state’s chief minister for the fourth time in 2017.

The Quint’s Ishadrita Lahiri had met Parrikar while covering the Goa state elections from 2017. She recalls a dinner with Parrikar and other journalists where he talked about his fondness for his home state.

Most of the obituaries on him mentioned his love for his home state and its fish curry indeed. But fish curries aside, one other thing that journalists didn't fail to mention is about his down-to-earth appearance. Senior journalist Smruti Koppikar, who had met Parrikar, talked about some popular stories on Manohar Parrikar, his famous scooter and his right-wing politics.

“A number of radical outfits actually took root in Goa and functioned from there and I do believe that Parrikar either looked the other, or it was all part of the plan and there was two sides of him and I have argued with him over the later part (Hindutva politics) but he was very committed to the RSS ideology. Except that he didn’t wear the saffron on his sleeve. It was a more sophisticated sangha ideology that he presented.”

Smruti Koppikar