Parrikar, who last year caused flutters in the party with his remark that the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat were a blot on Modi's career, deftly fielded several questions on what he now thought about the Gujarat chief minister.
To a question on why Modi was not still apologising for the way the Gujarat riots were handled, he said: "You should ask Modi. But he's pained by it. Whether he should apologise, that depends on the temperament of a person. I don't think he needs to apologise."
Asked how he would have handled the situation had the riots taken place in Goa, he said: "If a similar situation would have happened here, I would have acted on it."