A Chief Minister will have to take responsibility if riots take place in his State, Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Monday, speaking on a TV channel.
“I am a Chief Minister and [if] something happens in my State, I have to take the responsibility. I cannot say ‘no.’ I may not be directly involved, but as a Chief Minister, as a Home Minister, as an administrator, I think it is my responsibility to protect the interests of citizens,” he told NDTV.
He was asked whether or not Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was responsible for the 2002 riots.
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On his earlier statement that Mr. Modi should no longer be held responsible for the riots as a court exonerated him, Mr. Pawar said the ruling should be accepted. “....When the judiciary has said something, one has to accept [it].”
‘Combined effort’ As for development in Gujarat, Mr. Pawar said it was not the result of the efforts of one Chief Minister alone. “Gujarat or Maharashtra, they are developed States, and it is not the contribution of one Chief Minister. Many Chief Ministers, right from Chimanbhai Patel, have done a good job.”
Mr. Pawar said his equation with most leaders, including Mr. Modi, irrespective of parties was good.
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