Commenting on a recent blog by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader K.C Tyagi said Modi is guilty not only for mishandling, but also was a conspirator behind the Godhra riots.
"The riots went on for over two months and took place with the knowledge of the administration and the police, who were well aware of it," said Tyagi.
"How come the riots went on for a month, when, it could have been stopped in a day if Modi had given the orders and why only the people of a particular community were killed in these riots?" he asked.
"He is not only guilty but is also the conspirator of the Godhra riots," he added.
Samajwadi Party leader Kamal Faruqui said that Modi's statements are untrue and that he was spoiling the entire judicial system.
"I don't see any truth in his statement, which is completely political. This is a political move of his by which he has spoiled the entire judicial system," said Faruqui.
"I don't give any value to what he has said. Nothing much was expected from the SIT anyway, and, its no surprise that they gave him a clean chit," he said.
"His post today also shows political language. More than 2000 people were killed in the riots but still there is no remorse. He is trying to win over a portion of the population just because the elections are approaching," he added.
BJP leader Prakash Javadekar, however, defended Modi by saying that he was targeted and wrongly accused
"He was seen as an accused even though he is not involved in it. What Modi said in his blog was the complete truth and today he expressed himself to explain that this will not happen to anybody," said Javadekar.
His words express the anguish. He was targeted and wrongly accused and many cases were filed on him, whereas Modi did everything possibly to stop the riots," he said.
A day after a court in Ahmedabad upheld the closure of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report probing the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called it the "triumph of truth".
He gave a detailed account of the Godhra riots in a blog where he stated that he had tried his best to stop it and felt a deep pain on failing to do so.
Writing on his blog, Modi mentioned: "I 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. I had repeatedly reiterated the same principles in my daily interactions with the media in those fateful days of February-March 2002 as well; publicly underlining the political will as well as moral responsibility of the government to ensure peace, deliver justice and punish all guilty of violence. You will also find these deep emotions in my recent words at my Sadbhavna fasts, where I had emphasized how such deplorable incidents did not behoove a civilized society and had pained me deeply."
A local court on Thursday dismissed a petition by Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 riots, challenging the SIT's closure report.
That report had given a clean chit to Modi and 58 others involved in the riots.
According to reports, Modi later said: "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.
