Highlights:

-This is not clean chit, the Supreme Court has rejected all allegations. Supreme Court Judgement has concluded that the allegations were politically motivated.

-18-19 years fight, the leader of the nation continued to fight against the allegations, and the truth has come out like a shining gold today. I have seen Modiji facing these allegations and pain at very close distance. He didn’t speak as the case was going on. Some person with very strong will can only do it. I could give this interview even today but he silently faced it through all these years. I could give this interview in year 2003 also but we maintained silence as it was sub-judice.

-This judgement has rejected all the allegations. The court has also said that some wasted interest had made allegations that were politically motivated.

– Modi ji was also questioned, none had done dharna – pradarshan, we cooperated the justice system. I was also arrested. Party men were not called from across the country.

– The allegation was that the riots were motivated and there was hand of Chief Minister in it.

– Anti BJP political parties, some journalists who are ideology driven and some NGOs propagandized these allegations so much that slowly falsehood was started to be believed as truth.

– It’s not our attitude to intervene in media. The eco-system that had formed then, made lies into such a hype that it looked like truth. All people were under their influence, perhaps courts also.

– SIT was consented decision on demand of NGO to which Gujarat government had consented.

– The verdict has name of a police officer, one NGO and some political elements. The judgement has made it clear that lies were propagated, false evidences were framed to make sensation. The court has today concluded that the Chie Minister had made peace appeals time and again, the riots were not pre-planned, Tehelka sting operation was also rejected by court as the connecting footage was gone through.

– Gujarat government had not delayed calling Army even a little. When Sikhs were killed in Delhi, Army’s location was close but it was called after delay of three days. SIT was formed in non-Congress government. And such people point fingers at us?

– The judgement mentions Teesta Setalvad very clearly. Her NGO had submitted applications in every police station involving BJP men. And there was such a pressure of media that all such applications were treated as valid.

– Lies were spread that Muslims were killed in firing. The court has rejected the allegation. The way 60 persons were burnt alive, there was anger against it. And before riots, no other party other than BJP had criticized it even. Congress had not criticized it. It was vote bank politics. Today Supreme Court has stated that Zakia Jafri was working on direction of someone else. Signatures of many victims were made by NGO. It was Teesta Setalvad’s job. Congress led UPA government had helped that NGO. It is very well known in Lutyens’s Delhi. And this was done to harm the image of Narendrabhai Modi. But truth can’t be harmed. Modiji swallowed this poison through all these years silently and today he has come out like a shining Sun. Riots have not taken place when they (Congress party) were in power in several states? The label was not applied to them. We don’t want to use riots for politics. When there was some investment summit, there were articles regarding riots. When Modi ji used to visit abroad, such articles on riots would come out. Such was a harassment.

– You take five years of Congress rule and five years of BJP rule, and then match the hours of curfew, duration of riots, how many people were killed, how many riots took place. If you compare you will get to know that under whose rule riots were taking place more. And secondly, the cause of year 2002 riots was burning of train in Godhra. 60 persons were burnt alive. A 16 months old child was burnt alive in lap of her mother. I have seen that. I cremated her at Gota. While previous riots were politically motivated. An agitation against reservation was converted to communal riot previously.

– There was no professional input that there would be such a huge reaction after cremation of Godhra train burning victims. The dead bodies were taken to Sola civil hospital and the relatives took bodies to their places in closed ambulances. It is false propaganda that the bodies were paraded.

– One police station strength is 100 to 150 police men. With additional police force it would be 400. There were 2 lakh people in mob. What could be done? It took time. 900 people were killed in firing. But the scale was such that it took time for government to deal with it. KPS Gill sahab had come to help us. I had also dined with him. He said such a neutral and prompt action he had not seen ever in his life. But even then allegations were continuing. And they didn’t spare KPS Gill also.

– Dates were sought in the courts every time by NGO. They wanted it to stretch and kept the issue pending so that Modiji continue to face allegations. Political parties were funding NGOs and media was given them limelight.
DeshGujarat