Utpal slams Pawar for Parrikar and Rafale comments

PANAJI: Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar on Monday slammed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar over his remark on Manohar Parrikar viz-a-viz the Rafale deal.
Utpal in his letter written to Pawar, who is also a former defense minister, has said that this is yet another unfortunate attempt to invoke my father's name to push blatant falsehoods.
Pawar while addressing reporters in Maharashtra's Kolhapur last weekend had said that the Rafale deal was not acceptable to Parrikar and he had therefore quit as defence minister to return to Goa.
Countering Pawar’s statement, Utpal said that he and his family was saddened to read Pawar's remark.
"This is yet another unfortunate and insensitive attempt to invoke my father's name to push blatant falsehood for political gains," Utpal said.
Parrikar died on March 17, 2019, after nearly a year long battle against pancreatic cancer.
Mentioning that some political leaders dragged Parrikar into petty politics when he was fighting a chronic illness, Utpal in his letter said that his father has given befitting replies to such allegations.
He also slammed Pawar saying the senior Maharashtra leader is taking the liberty to name his father and speak lies because he (Manohar Parrikar) is not here. Utpal has said that this type of a statement was not expected from the senior politician.
Stating that Manohar Parrikar father has done a historic job during his tenure as defense minister, Utpal said that his father was one of the chief architects in the Rafale fighter aircraft acquisition deal.
Later he came back to Goa on people's demand to serve them and he served till his last breath, Utpal said.
It is an insult to the love between the people of Goa and Parrikar to falsely suggest that he came back due to the Rafale acquisition, Utpal said.
"As a former defense minister I am sure you know the importance of equipping our brave soldiers well. It is extremely distressing to see you becoming part of a malicious misinformation campaingn that seeks to hinder strengthening of the armed forces," Utpal further said in his letter to Pawar, urging the latter to desist from such conduct and allow him to grieve in peace.