Parrikar’s son Utpal slams former Goa RSS chief

Panaji, April 13 (IANS) In his first political comment amid talk of a political debut, late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's elder son Utpal Parrikar, on Saturday slammed former RSS state chief Subhash Velingkar for questioning his political credentials and critising his father for the sake of publicity.

Velingkar, head of Goa Suraksha Manch, on Friday critised Utpal's likely entry into politics saying it was foisting of "dynasty raj" and he lacked political experience.

Speaking to reporters at the state BJP headquarters here, Utpal, a businessman, said while he had stayed away from politics when his father was alive, he would accept any responsibility the party would give him.

"Earlier, we would stay away strategically. When one Parrikar is there, others had to stay in the background. We were doing just that," Utpal said. "Only my work and people of Panaji and Goa will decide what kind of material I am," he said.

Without naming Velingkar, he said criticising Manohar Parrikar often fetched him critics space on the national media through "click bait" comments. "I do not believe in virtue-signalling to Goans, through TV. It is called "click bait" news. You click a news item on Youtube, then you appear on TV, then in newspapers by abusing (Manohar) Parrikar. He was a national leader and the criticism made national news."

According to BJP sources, Utpal has been tipped to contest the Panaji by-election, scheduled for May 19. The by-election has been caused by death of Manohar Parrikar on March 17.

The late leader represented the Panaji seat from 1994 to 2014, when he was elevated to the central cabinet as Defence Minister. He returned to state politics in 2017 and won the Panaji seat again.