By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Ahmedabad: A day after a court rejected the protest petition of Zakia Jafri and upheld the closure of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report probing the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that the “Truth alone triumphs – Satyameva Jayate.”
Yesterday as the local court pronounced its judgement Modi had tweeted “सत्यमेव जयते! Truth alone triumphs.” In a subsequent tweet he had quoted the Father of the nation and said, “Truth by nature is self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear"- Mahatma Gandhi.”
File photo of Zakia Jafir with Teesta Setalvad and others.
Modi had promised to share his “thoughts on the judgement,” and since then media was frantically waiting for his explanation.
This is perhaps for the first time, when Modi has delved in details on the riots. He has generally avoided the question in his conversation with the Indian media. Few months back, he created furore when he compared the riot victims with puppies in an interview with Reuters.
Modi today wrote a blog today to share “inner thoughts and feelings with the nation at large.”
In what clearly appears as a PR exercise to ‘reach out’ to Muslims and more importantly to present his new found love for ‘liberal’ image, Modi writes, “I was shaken to the core. ‘Grief’, ‘Sadness’, ‘Misery’, ‘Pain’, ‘Anguish’, ‘Agony’ – mere words could not capture the absolute emptiness one felt on witnessing such inhumanity.”
Detailing his ‘efforts’ during the riots, he writes, “I had to single-mindedly focus all the strength given to me by the almighty, on the task of peace, justice and rehabilitation; burying the pain and agony I was personally wracked with.”
Taking rather hallow position, Modi writes that those sitting in positions of power did not have the right to share their own pain and anguish as they suffer in solitude. “I lived through the same, experiencing this anguish in searingly sharp intensity,” he adds.
‘Reminding,’ his readers that he had appealed to the people of Gujarat on the day of the Godhra train burning itself; “fervently urging for peace and restraint to ensure lives of innocents were not put at risk,” adding that he reiterated it time and again during the course of the days.
Modi of course now denies that he ever talked about ‘action-reaction’ theory. "During the interview (to a TV channel), when questioned about the Gulberg society massacre in which former MP Ehsaan Jafri was killed along with 69 others, the CM referred to reports that Jafri had first fired at the violent mob, which provoked the mob and thereafter it stormed the housing society and set it on fire," the SIT report noted.
The SIT report further says the exact quote was, "Kriya pratikriya ke chain chal rahi hai. Hum chahte hai ke na kriya ho, aur na pratikriya (A chain of action and reaction is going on. We neither want action nor reaction)."
Presenting himself, rather as a victim, Modi writes, “However, as if all the suffering was not enough, I was also accused of the death and misery of my own loved ones, my Gujarati brothers and sisters. Can you imagine the inner turmoil and shock of being blamed for the very events that have shattered you!”
Invoking ‘Gujarati pride,’ the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP further writes, “What pained even more was that in their overzealousness to hit at me for their narrow personal and political ends, they ended up maligning my entire state and country,” adding, “This heartlessly kept reopening the wounds that we were sincerely trying to heal. It ironically also delayed the very justice that these people claimed to be fighting for.”
Modi also believes that his government acted promptly. He writes, “The Gujarat Government had responded to the violence more swiftly and decisively than ever done before in any previous riots in the country.”
Hailing yesterday’s judgement, he adds, “Yesterday’s judgement culminated a process of unprecedented scrutiny closely monitored by the highest court of the land, the Honourable Supreme Court of India. Gujarat’s 12 years of trial by the fire have finally drawn to an end. I feel liberated and at peace.”
Noting that he feels vindicated and thanking his supporters for standing up with him, Modi turns moralistic and appeal to his opponents to forget bitterness. “I am deeply convinced that the future of any society, state or country lies in harmony. This is the only foundation on which progress and prosperity can be built,” he writes.
Meanwhile, Zakia Ahsan Jafri Teesta Setalvad have expressed this disappointment over the verdict and are now planning to appeal to the higher court. In a joint statement, they said, “We are disappointed but not disheartened. We believe, strongly, that there was enough material on the records of this Court, enough evidence to prosecute Modi for high level criminal conspiracy to ensure committal of mass murder, rape, arson, destruction of evidence etc. Amicus Curaie Raju Ramachandra had also stated that there was sufficient to prosecute Modi for hate speech (sections 153a, 153b) and section 166 of the IPC. The 3-4 tier system of justice is designed to correct wrongs. We will soldier on.”