NEW DELHI: Even as BJP strongly condemned Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Narendra Modi for his alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat, coalition partners in the UPA did not hesitate to raise concern over the remarks.
Responding to Rahul’s charges in his TV interview, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad ridiculed him asking if he is even aware of what his father Rajiv Gandhi had said after the riots that claimed lives of thousands of Sikhs.
He lashed out at Rahul saying he had exposed himself by being evasive and not apologising for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Congress ally NCP also raised concerns over functioning of the Congress party and criticised Rahul for not being forthcoming on key issues.
DP Tripathi, a member of Parliament from NCP, said, “Most of the decisions are taken at his behest. Therefore before he intends to change the system, he’ll have to change the Congress leadership. Change the substance and the style of the Congress leadership, that’s what I mean and he did not talk about that.”
Rahul had said, “The difference between the 1984 riots and the riots in Gujarat was that in 1984 the government was trying to stop the riots. In Gujarat, the opposite happened. The government in Gujarat was actually abetting and pushing the riots further.”
Following concerns by parties, Congress leaders came to his defence saying he was at least sincere and honest to admit what had happened. But Modi is not even willing to take questions on the Gujarat riots.
Party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “There have been 442 convictions (in 1984 riots cases) and a large number of political careers have had adversly affected. In Gujarat for 2002, the whole bunch of case is transferred to Maharashtra, where is the conviction?”
SAD MP Naresh Gujral said the police were watching the riots helplessly. “I think he’s very frugal with the truth. In Gujarat, Army was out within 12 hours but in Delhi not one shot was fired. Police were watching helplessly.”
