Manohar Parrikar was a star performer at the "chief ministers' conferences" held at the national level, said socio-political activist Sudheendra Kulkarni Monday.
Parrikar (63) Sunday died of pancreatic cancer and was cremated with full state honours Monday.
Kulkarni, who served in the Prime Minister's Office as Director during the earlier NDA government and worked along side BJP stalwarts Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, was a batch junior to Parrikar at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay.
Speaking to a regional channel, he said, "When I was working in the PMO, there used to be chief minsters' conferences at the national level. Parrikar used to be a star performer in such meetings. He was representing a small state, but it was his charisma and deep understanding of issues that used to draw attention towards him."
Queried on whether he knew of Parrikar's political inclination, Kulkarni said, "I never noticed it but he was more interested in social work. Once he completed his education from IIT-B, he went back to Goa and started working with local RSS workers."
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