Godhra panel may summon Vajpayee

Close on the heels of filing an application seeking to call former President KR Narayanan before the Godhra inquiry commission, an advocate today filed an application seeking to summon former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Defence Minister George Fernandes before the probe panel.

An application was filed today before the commission comprising Justice (retd) GT Nanavati and Justice (retd) KG Shah seeking to summon Vajpayee and Fernandes as the former President's remarks indicate that he had suggested "early deployment of army in Gujarat" that could have prevented so many killings of minorities, the applicant advocate Mukul Sinha said.

Narayanan, who was the President when the post-Godhra communal riots occurred, had reportedly made statements before media in Kerala that "he had asked Vajpayee to deploy army in Gujarat to control the riots."