A chief minister has to take responsibility if riots take place in a state under his watch, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said today against the backdrop of the 2002 Gujarat communal violence. "I am a chief minister and 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 interest of the citizens," he told NDTV.

He was asked about his stand on whether Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was responsible or not for the 2002 riots. On his earlier statement that Modi should no longer be held responsible for the communal violence as a court has exonerated the Gujarat chief minister, Pawar said that the decision of the court should be accepted.

"....When judiciary has said something one has to accept," Pawar said, adding that he goes according to the decision of the court.