Parrikar's Modi-remark triggers internal simmering within the BJP

Two months after Narendra Modi's puppy remark in an interview to an international newswire sparked controversy, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's comments to The New York Times Wednesday have triggered an internal simmering within the BJP.

The Bharatiya Janata Party Thursday censured Parrikar over his 2002 Godhra riots comments in his interview published online Wednesday, with senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu asking the Goa chief minister to not talk about 2002, but instead "focus on 2014", when the country heads for the Lok Sabha polls.

Parrikar had in an interview to NYT's India blog, 'India Ink' had said that he would have done a better job than Modi, in controlling the situation post-Godhra riots in 2002.

"It should not have happened, the administration should have clamped down on any violence, [If I were in his place] I would have ensured?but Modi was new to the job as chief minister," Parrikar said in his interview.

Parrikar had further said that the communal riots which followed were a product of administrative failure and that everything need not be blamed on Modi alone.

"What happened then was unfortunate, but that does not require his apology, it requires his correction and he has done that. There were many reasons why people lost control in 2002 after the dead bodies [of Hindu pilgrims from an earlier attack] were shown on TV. It should not have happened, the administration should have clamped down on any violence," Parrikar said.

Modi's interview to Reuters in July had also sparked a controversy after he used the analogy of the sadness caused by a puppy coming under the wheels of a car, to explain how the pain he felt following the devastating riots.

However, reacting to Parrikar's comments the Opposition here has claimed that Goa chief minister was slowly becoming self-obsessed and was ignoring the pursuit of good governance.

"Even the Supreme Court in its judgement last week, has hinted that the education ministry which Parrikar heads, behaves in an 'ego-centric' manner. What more do you want me to say," Congress spokesperson Reginaldo Lourenco said.

When asked to react to the controversy at a media interaction earlier during the day, the Goa chief minister refused to comment on the issue claiming he had been "selectively quoted" on the Modi aspect in the interview.