Goa State Government CM Parrikar dies from pancreatic cancer at age 63

Goa State Government CM Parrikar dies from pancreatic cancer at age 63

Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar died at his Panaji residence on Sunday evening just over a year after he was detected with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.

Parrikar is survived by two sons and their families. His wife Medha Parrikar died twelve years ago.

“Chief Minister passed away around 6.40 pm Sunday,” a senior state government official said.

“Extremely sorry to hear of the passing of Shri Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, after an illness borne with fortitude and dignity,” President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted.

Hours earlier, GOA CMO had tweeted that his condition was “extremely critical” and “doctors are trying their best”.

Parrikar’s health, which has been fluctuating for a year, took a turn for the worse in the past two days.

Parrikar was suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer and had been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and New Delhi over the past year.

Parrikar had been unwell since February 2018 when he was diagnosed with a pancreatic ailment.

Sources said former defence minister Parrikar had been on life support system since late Saturday night.

Parrikar started off in the RSS when he was young and studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. After the RSS approved his joining the BJP, he was elected to Goa’s Assembly in 1994.

He became Chief Minister for the first time in 2000 and in 2014, replaced Arun Jaitley as Minister of Defence. However, he chose to return to Goa as chief minister after the March 2016 elections.