http://pd.cpim.org/2013/0714_pd/07072013_gujarat.html
*Vol. XXXVII*
*No. 28
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*July 14, 2013*
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*GUJARAT** RIOTS*
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*Protest Petition Exposes Political Conspiracy *
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*Archana Prasad*
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EVEN as Narendra Modi prepares to use the Gujarat model of ‘development’ to
lure the Muslim minorities towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the
hollowness of his claims has been exposed by the protest petition filed by
Mrs Zakia Jafri and the Citizens for Peace and Justice (CPJ) in the Gujarat
riots case. The petition, which was filed in the Ahmedabad sessions court
in April 2013, challenges the closure report of the Supreme Court monitored
Special Investigation Team (SIT). This report ignored several important
facts and testimonies, and covers up the criminal conspiracy hatched by the
chief minister, his administration and the frontline leaders of the VHP and
the Sangh Parivar. The protest petition serves as a reminder and unveils
this broader conspiracy by naming Narendra Modi as Accused No 1 and showing
the crucial links between him and the inaction in the riots. In this sense
the petition is an important political tool for countering the advance of
Narendra Modi and his Hindutva brigade in national politics.
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*MODI GOVT AND VHP: *
*THE CO-CONSPIRATORS*
At the outset, the protest petition provides ample evidence for concluding
that the post-Godhra violence was pre-meditated and planned by the
political leadership of the state government and the local organisers of
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Even before the unfortunate attack on the *kar
sevaks* in Godhra on February 27, 2002, the state government had prior
information on the volatile situation that was developing because of the
provocative behaviour of the *kar sevaks*. Intelligence messages to the
home department (in direct charge of Narendra Modi) in the aftermath of the
incident also alerted the authorities about the possible communal flare-up.
Within minutes of receiving this information, two successive calls were
made by the chief minister was to Jaideep Patel, the secretary of the VHP.
On the same day Jaideep Patel (Accused No 21) and Mr Kaushik (Accused No
19), a senior functionary of the VHP, accompanied the bodies of the *kar
sevaks* to Ahemdabad on the behest of the district administration. They
addressed the media saying that hundreds of *kar sevaks* had been killed in
a terrorist attack and women had been molested. Intelligence messages on
the public statements of these two leaders stated that the speeches were
reckless and that no molestation of women or mass killing of *kar
sevaks*had taken place. Yet many of these messages were ignored. In
fact, for a
full day after the incident took place and during the subsequent massacres,
there were hardly any calls on the official numbers of the chief minister.
The protest petition points out that the SIT has not questioned Mr Modi on
the absence of his call records on the day when the Gulbarg society
massacre took place.
Two other significant factors point towards the close cooperation between
the VHP leaders and the state administration. The first is the fact that
the bodies of the *kar sevaks* were handed over by the district
administration to the VHP secretary, Jaideep Patel, on the evening of
February 27, 2002. None of the investigating officers in the Gujarat riots
investigated why the bodies of the *kar* *sevaks* were handed over to
non-government persons who had a track record of making provocative
speeches. Second, the post mortem was conducted in the railway yard itself
without any proper procedures. During the process, two phone calls were
received by the doctors conducting the procedure. What were these phone
calls about and who had made them? The SIT did not bother to even ask such
questions, much less investigate them, thus showing that the investigations
were themselves biased in favour of the accused persons.
The actions of the state government also facilitated the leaders of the
Hindutva brigade who were targeting Muslims in their ‘reaction’ to the
Godhra incident. In this sense they had both the implicit and the explicit
support of the political leadership led by Narendra Modi. Being in charge
of the home department, the chief minister himself appears to be the chief
conspirator who created the space for the targeting of Muslims by armed
mobs of the Bajrang Dal and VHP.
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*ROLE OF GOVERNMENT *
*DURING AND AFTER RIOTS*
The protest petition clearly points out that the SIT ignored, disregarded
and discredited some crucial evidence that showed the role of Narendra Modi
and his government in the riots of February 2002. The main example of this
is of the nine affidavits filed by former police officer, B Sreekumar, who
was then the additional director general of police, intelligence. In his
affidavits Mr Sreekumar gave amble evidence of the messages recorded in his
register which warned the government about the gathering mobs for welcoming
and parading the bodies of the dead *kar* *sevaks* in different funeral
processions. The messages also highlighted the demand for additional forces
for controlling the mobs, but these forces were never sent to the areas
where riots were planned.
Further, the protest petition also records the manner in which the calls
for help from the victims of the riots were ignored. Survivors from Naroda
Patiya made at least a hundred calls to the police commissioner, P C Pande,
but his mobile was switched off. There was a similar callous response from
most of the additional commissioners of police (CPs) and deputy
commissioners of police (DCPs) of Ahmedabad city. In many instances,
policemen even aided mobs in their lawlessness.
The preliminary report of the SIT also found that the former Ahmedabad
joint commissioner of police, M K Tandon, in whose area around 200 Muslims
were killed, was guilty of deliberate dereliction of duty. But far from
punishing him after the 2002 riots, he was given one powerful promotion
after another until he retired as additional DGP in June 2007. His junior,
former DCP, P B Gondia, has also been found guilty of allowing the
massacres. But instead of being penalised for his illegal actions, he today
holds the powerful post of IGP of state CID. These actions of the Modi
government clearly show that the latter was rewarding these police officers
for cooperating with the political leadership during the post-Godhra
violence. The final closure report of the SIT ignores and completely
disregards this evidence. This also shows how Modi has influenced and tried
to manipulate the SIT report even though it was prepared under the watchful
eye of the apex court.
It must be emphasised that the home department that received these messages
was headed by the chief minister, Mr Narendra Modi, himself. All the
information received was also processed under his leadership. Therefore it
can be inferred that he has been directly involved in the management of the
riots and their subsequent cover-up. In this sense the protest petition of
Mrs Zakia Jafri has unveiled and provided evidence for the way in which
these riots were managed by the Sangh Parivar under the leadership of Modi.
Further, the timing of the petition and its daily hearings are important
because they come at a time when the Modi mantra is being chanted by the
BJP. By touting the Gujarat model as the best and Modi as the most popular
leader, the BJP is trying to show that the Gujarati people, and especially
the Muslims, have forgotten and forgiven the follies committed during the
riots. Mrs Zakia Jafri’s protest petition provides a strong counterpoint to
this discourse and reminds the nation that a fascistic leader like Narendra
Modi must by all means be tried for his crimes. It reminds us that there
can be no closure without justice. Like this petition, the Left and
democratic forces need to popularise the political conspiracy behind these
riots in order to counter and stem the advance of the apparently inevitable
Modi juggernaut that threatens to roll on before the impending general
election.
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Peace Is Doable
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