Noting that the tenure of Chander had ended in November, he said it was extended on contractual basis due the previous government's decision.
"At these senior positions, they should not be on contract. There are so many eligible, (someone) should be brought among them," he said.
The Minister maintained that there was no controversy in this decision.
Asked who will head DRDO, he said the senior-most person of the cluster head will hold the post temporarily.
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"We will find out someone good from the DRDO, who has the urge for development," he said.
Asked if the sudden termination of Chander without informing him was right, Parrikar said, "I also got the information from you, from paper and TV".
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last night "approved termination" of the contract of Chander with effect from January 31.
The move comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comment last year that the 'laid back' attitude in the DRDO will not be tolerated.
Chander joined DRDO in 1972 after completing graduation in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He was the chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missile systems.