Jaitley says Modi doesn’t need to apologize for Gujarat riots
2 min read 31 Mar 2014, 05:24 PM ISTJaitley says those asking for an apology from the BJP's PM candidate wanted it to be an act of confession
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India’s front-running prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi doesn’t need to apologize for failing to quell 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat because courts have cleared him, a senior party leader said.
Religious minorities will also vote for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in elections starting next month, helping the opposition party form a government, said Arun Jaitley, the party’s leader in the Upper House of Parliament. The next administration must focus on reversing an economic slowdown and improving investment, Jaitley added.
Those asking for an apology wanted the apology to be an act of confession, Jaitley, who was also law minister in the previous BJP-led government, said at a news conference in New Delhi. No Indian politician has had to face that kind of both public and judicial scrutiny.
Modi’s reputation for failing to support the Muslim minority stems from the riots in Gujarat, the state he has run since 2001. After Muslims set fire to a train, killing Hindu activists, ensuing riots killed about 1,100 people, mostly Muslims, according to a government report by justice G.T. Nanavati and justice Akshay Mehta.
Human rights groups including the Concerned Citizens Tribunal say Modi failed to control the mob. Modi denies wrongdoing and a panel appointed by India’s Supreme Court in 2012 found no evidence that his decisions prevented victims from receiving help.
Immediate challenge
There were a large number of series of inquiries he had to face, Jaitley said, referring to Modi. They were court- supervised and finally the inquiries found there was not a shred of evidence against him.
The immediate challenge for the new government will be to kick-start investments, curb inflation and put the economy back on a high growth path, Jaitley said. The BJP will continue policies that improve the lot of the poor, he added.
The Congress-led government’s decade-long rule may come to an end as voters punish it for the slowest growth in a decade and consumer inflation that has averaged more than 9% for the past two years. Support for the opposition has also grown after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s administration dealt with graft allegations and departure of allies.
The BJP will win most seats in elections running 7 April to 12 May, while falling short of a majority, according to opinion polls such as those published by Nielsen and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. The results of the vote will be announced 16 May. Bloomberg
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