Parrikar is soldier without uniform: Rathore

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today termed the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as a "soldier without uniform" and praised his decision-making ability while taking a swipe at his predecessor, A K Antony.

"I had seen him (Parrikar) only on television and admired him as an IITan Chief Minister (of Goa). When he became the (union) minister I started interacting with him, being from the Defence Forces (myself)," Rathore said during a meeting in Porvorim constituency near here.

"I have realised that if someone is a soldier without uniform, it is Manohar Parrikar. He has the heart of a soldier," Rathore said.

"His capability of decision making cannot be compared with any past Defence Minister. Prior to him A K Antony was the Defence Minister. People say he did not make any money.

It is a good thing that he did not make any money. But in the bargain he used to get worried when it came to signing the files," Rathore said.

Saying that Antony didn't sign files because he feared scandals, and thus didn't buy ammunition "for ten years", Rathore said in last two years, Parrikar gave orders to procure Rs 1 lakh crore-worth defence equipment of which 80 per cent is manufactured in India.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)