"Nation has lost a true Bharat Ratna": Dr Subramanian Swamy shares memory of Manohar Parrikar as IIT Bombay student, says they remained friends through thick and thin

BJP Member of Parliament Dr Subramanian Swamy has condoled the demise of four-time and serving Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who passed away on Sunday at the age of 63 after battling pancreatic Cancer for over a year. 

Taking to Twitter, Dr Swamy has hailed the former Union Defence Minister, indicating the clearly high regard he held Parrikar in by stating that the Nation has lost a true Bharat Ratna.

Dr Swamy has spoken about how long he knew Parrikar for, their association stretching back a number of decades to the time that the Goa Chief Minister was a student at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay (IIT Bombay). Dr Swamy, who had himself served as a professor at IIT Delhi in the early seventies upon his return to India from the US, has remembered how Parrikar had been his booth agent when he had contested for the Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seat and won as a Janata Party candidate in 1977 and 1980.

Dr Subramanian Swamy has added that he and Manohar Parrikar remained friends through thick and thin.

India is observing a day of national mourning on March 18 on account of Manohar Parrikar's demise, with the state of Goa to observe a week's mourning. 

Manohar Parrikar's last rites are set to be performed at 5 pm on Monday, with the Prime Minister and other senior central ministers set to attend.

PM Modi had issued a statement of tribute for Manohar Parrikar soon after he passed away, calling him an unparalleled leader and the builder of modern Goa:

READ | Goa CM Manohar Parrikar's Last Rites To Be Performed In Panaji As Nation Observes Day Of Mourning, PM Modi And Other Leaders To Attend: Updates