Not cut out to be central leader: Parrikar

Only if there's an India-Pakistan war and he is needed will Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar rush to Delhi, otherwise he feels he's not quite cut out to be a "central leader".

"For example, if there is an India-Pakistan war and I am called on to play a role at the centre, I will rush there the next minute because the nation would be requiring me," Parrikar said at an interaction with the public here Monday, adding that he does not have the "temperament" to don the role of Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership.

"My temperament is not that of a central leader, I personally feel honesty is not the only quality that is required to be a leader at the centre. You need to do several other things which I am not ready for," he said.

Parrikar is seen as one of the BJP leaders who could play a bigger role in the future.

He had recently stirred a controversy when he told New York Times that the 2002 Gujarat riots were a blot on the party's prime ministerial hopeful Narendra Modi and he would have done a better job managing the communal violence.

On Monday, however, Parrikar called Modi a pragmatic leader.

"Modi is a very pragmatic leader. For the last 12 years he is heading a perfectly governed state," he added.