Defending the cult within the party vis-a-vis Modi, Parrikar said right from the times of the Ramayana, Indians have loved being led by individuals.
"Cult is not a new phenomenon for this country... You take it from Ramayana time. You will find (that) being led by one person was always liked by people," Parrikar said, when asked why a cadre-based outfit like the BJP was succumbing to Modi's personality cult.
On Kejriwal, another ex-IITian who became chief minister of Delhi even if it was for 49 days, Parrikar said: "Dreams don't become a reality unless you have executive abilities. My personal opinion is that had the BJP announced Harsh Vardhan's name four weeks before it actually made him chief ministerial candidate, the saffron party would have got at least 40 seats."
The Goa chief minister denied he had taken special interest in the Tarun Tejpal case. "I didn't take centrestage on the Tejpal case. I don't interfere with police work. I only told police that don't get influenced by anyone. If a highly place media personality does something wrong, then the punishment should be quick and harsh."
