INDIA. New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court upheld the former Chief Minister’s exoneration, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “endured false allegations” connected to the 2002 Gujarat riots silently for 19 years while the judicial procedure was ongoing.
Shah attacked the Congress, which has been protesting for days over the questioning of senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in a money laundering case, saying, “Modi ji faced false charges in quiet for 19 years, nobody conducted a dharna.”
“I have closely seen Modi ji enduring this pain, facing the allegations despite being on the side of truth and because the judicial process was underway he did not speak. Only a man with a strong heart can do this,” Shah said.
“PM Modi provided the best illustration of how the Constitution ought to be upheld by all political figures in a democracy. Modi ji was also questioned, but there was no outcry and no national rally of (BJP) workers in support of Modi ji. With the law, we complied. I also was detained. There was no demonstration or protest,” he added.
The former Punjab Police chief KPS Gill, a renowned top officer, described the state government’s intervention as “prompt and neutral,” while the Union Home Minister refuted that the Gujarat administration had delayed in deploying the army to quell riots.
He also criticised Congress for failing to act during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, claiming that numerous Sikhs were killed “yet nothing was done for three days.”
“The Gujarat government did not delay anything. When Gujarat Bandh was declared, we called the Army. The Army needed some time to reach. There was not even a day’s delay by the Gujarat government and this was also appreciated by the court,” Shah said.
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was one of 68 people killed in what became known as the Gulbarg Society massacre on the first day of the three-day riots, saying it was “devoid of merits” and filed “to keep the pot boiling.” Ehsan Jafri was one of 68 people killed in what became known as the Gulbarg Society massacre.
The court made strong statements that it said were lifted from the Special Investigation Team’s or SIT’s arguments that had exonerated PM Modi, saying the plea was made “to keep the kettle boiling, presumably, for ulterior design.”
The judges concluded that the appeal was submitted “at the direction of someone” and stated that “all those involved in such abuse of process ought to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law.”
Also Read: SC Dismisses Zakia Jafri’s Plea, PM Modi Gets Clean Chit from SIT
