Bhubaneswar: Prasanta Kumar Patnaik, who was Manohar Parrikar’s teacher at IIT, Bombay, expressed deep shock over the death of the former Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister.
Mr Patnaik, who is presently settled in Bhubaneswar, said “it’s a major personal loss to me.”
Parrikar last visited Odisha in 2016 to attend BJP’s Vikas Utsav in Cuttack and also held a meeting with the intellectuals.
But despite his busy schedule, Parrikar did not forget to meet his teacher.
Patnaik said, “He was a disciplined student and a very original thinker. The leader started his socio-political activity in IIT Bombay itself by taking up the underpaid issue of mess workers. He argued while everyone else is getting salary for 12 months, why the mess workers would get wages for eight months. Even students of M.Tech and Ph.D courses were his followers.”
“After graduating from the IIT Bombay, Parrikar started his own industry. As anyone representing the people must have his own profession, Parrikar had his means of earning. He had his own money unlike some great public leaders living on public money,” Patnaik added.
Patnaik’s wife Supriya had presented a copy of the Gita to the Parrikar during his visit in 2016. Remembering the humility of Parrikar, she said, “He was very amicable. I am deeply pained with his demise.”
The BJP stalwart passed away on Sunday at his private residence in Panaji, Goa after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.
