Union home minister Amit Shah, in an interview with news agency on Saturday, spoke at length on the recent verdict by the Supreme Court, which yesterday gave prime minister Narendra Modi and 60 other officials a clean chit in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. Shah held ‘a trio of opposition parties, ideologically motivated elements and some NGOs’ responsible for spreading allegations against Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister. “They had a strong ecosystem so everyone started believing lies to be truth,” Shah told news agency.
Here are the top quotes by Amit Shah on Gujarat riots verdict by SC:
Referring to prime minister Modi, Shah said he saw a ‘tall leader suffering in this 18-19 year-long fight without saying a word, and braving all pain like ‘vishpaan’ (drinking poison) of Lord Shankar’. “I saw him suffering through this very closely. Only a strong-willed person could’ve taken the stand to not say anything as the case was sub-judice,” he said.
In an apparent jibe at protests by the Congress over the questioning of Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case, he said: “Modiji didn’t do drama while appearing before SIT (Special investigation Team). He himself is ready to cooperate. Why (the need to) protest?”
“The Troika of BJP’s political rivals, ideologically driven & politically motivated journalists and some NGOs publicised the allegations. They had a strong ecosystem, so everyone started believing lies to be true.”
Home Minister also named Teesta Setalvad – an Indian civil rights activist and journalist, and accused her of spreading lies. “Everyone knows Teesta Setalvad’s NGO was doing this. When the UPA Govt came to power at that time, it helped the NGO,” he said.
“The primary cause of the riots was that the Godhra train was set on fire. 60 people died. I saw a 16-day old child, sitting in her mother’s lap being set on fire. I did the cremation with my own hands. This is what started the riots. And the rest was politically motivated.” He further added, “the people (officers-administration) had done a good job, but there was anger due to the incident (Godhra train burning), and nobody had an inkling – neither the Police, not anyone else. Later it wasn’t in anyone’s hands.”
“The Gujarat government did not delay anything. When the 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 when asked about allegations the state had delayed calling the armed forces for help.