Narendra Modi dodges demand for apology for 2002 riots

BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi once again sidestepped the question on apologising for the 2002 gujarat riots. Responding to a question asked on TV channel TV9, Modi said that Congress should first account for their sins before asking others to apologise. 

 

"Nobody from the Congress came to meet me or discuss this issue with me.Congress should account for their own sins first before raising a finger at someone else.", said Modi to TV9. 

 

On being reminded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram have called him a 'danger' to the country, Modi said, "I have not heard Manmohan Singh speak like that in the last ten years".

 

Modi accepted Murli Manohar Joshi's assertion that the current wave seen in the country cannot be attributed to him but is a wave for a BJP ruled government at the centre. He also refuted reports in the media that senior leaders like Advani and Joshi are unhappy with his rise in the party.

Responding to a question on why BJPs campaign centred around  a personality cult, Modi said that his opponents have contributed to the creation of such a cult and he had suffered a lot since 2002.

 

Narendra Modi has been facing the ghost of 2002 riots over the last 12 years and despite repeated demands from both political opponents and human rights activists, he has refused to offer any apology. In an interview given to Reuters last year, Modi had stopped short of an apology by expressing regret for the lives lost in the 2002 riots. 

 

Modi also refused to answer questions on the latest controversy over his marital status by saying that he would not like to discuss such matters on TV. Narendra Modi, for the first time, had accepted in his nomination form that he is married to Jashodaben, who currently lives in Brahmanvada, about 100 kms from Ahmedabad.