Manohar Parrikar breaks silence on why he quit Defence Ministry

Goa CM on why he quit as Defence Minister/ Image: PTI/File

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday made a startling confession during an interview. While addressing a gathering Parrikar spoke about his tenure as a Defence Minister and said that the pressure of some keyissues, like ‘Kashmir’, was one of the reasons why he opted to quit as the defence minister and return to the coastal state. Parrikar, who sworn in as the Goa chief minister for the fourth time last month, also said since Delhi was not his area of operations, he used to feel "under pressure" there. "The pressure of the issues like Kashmir while working as defence minister in Delhi was one of the reasons why I chose to come back to Goa," Parrikar said while addressing a gathering here on the occasion of the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar. "I chose to come back to Goa when I got an opportunity to do so. When you are in the Centre, you have to tackle issues like Kashmir and others," he said. "Delhi is not my area of operations (and) that is why I used to feel under pressure," Parrikar added. The former Union minister said that resolving the Kashmir issue was not an easy task and needed a long-term policy. "It is not so easy to solve the kashmir issue. To solve Kashmir issue you require a long-term policy," said Parrikar. "There are a few things, which need to be discussed less. There should be less discussion and more action on the issues like Kashmir, because when you sit for discussion the issues get complicated," he said. The BJP stalwart said that Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been his "political guru" and he would like to imbibe at least some of his qualities. (With PTI inputs)