[Reader-list] Fw: Re: i was stunned

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Rajen jee

First of all, since you are asking to show a proof if anybody has of Modi's
involvement in the post-Godhra violence in 2002 to the SIT, let me equally
ask you if you have any proof of his non-involvement in the same as well.
And if yes, please do give that to the SIT.

Second. My perception that Modi has failed as a CM comes from numerous
counts, and these are as follows:

1) The Modi govt. has differentiated between those burnt in Godhra and those
killed in post Godhra violence. A state sponsored funeral was carried out
for the Godhra victims, but nothing of that sort was done for those who died
in the violence after that. Moreover, the compensations were also different
in both the cases. Those who died in Godhra got more than those who died in
the aftermath violence, whereas in the first case people were burnt, but in
the second case there were women raped and killed, and many houses burnt.
Even the sources of occupation were lost by many people, and many couldn't
even return to the villages where they lived before. This is still the case
today.

2) The Modi govt had the prime responsibility to ensure that after Godhra,
the law and order situation did not deteriorate. One way of doing that is to
arrest all possible troublemakers. The Maharashtra police, if I am not
wrong, arrested about 9,000 such troublemakers on the day Godhra took place.
The Gujarat police in turn arrested only 2-3 people. When Maharashtra police
was expecting trouble after Godhra, was the Gujarat administration sleeping?

3) The Modi govt was probably sleeping, I may say, if Godhra took place
without any intelligence information about the possibility of the same. At
least one can say the Home Dept. in Gujarat was sleeping. Ditto can be said
about the Centre too, for the NDA govt was in power then, also led by the
BJP. Therefore, if Godhra was a case of train burning, then it was a case of
intelligence failure both at the central and the state level. And the 'lauh
purush' Advani was the then Home Minister.

I wonder where was the strength of the 'lauh purush' and 'his chela' Modi
then when all this happened. Modi ironically, has never apologized for
Godhra taking place even once.

Our Modi bhai was trying to justify the violence after the Godhra incident
through the Newton's third law. I wonder what Newton would have felt on
hearing this.

4) The police under his govt effectively failed to actually prevent
violence. There were many cases when in police firing, only Muslims were
killed, when ironically in the same areas, Muslims suffered both personal
and economic losses! Was the police indulging in looting and massacres, or
joined forces with goons and marauders to commit genocide?

5) The people who suffered in this violence after Godhra incident wait for
justice. The police was clubbing cases of many people in the same FIR, which
is against basic principle of law. Moreover, the main goons in each violence
were never named in the FIR's, or their names were deleted.  Many cases were
closed by the police for 'lack of evidence'. Since when has the Gujarat
police become the authority to decide whether evidence is there in a case or
not?

It's the responsibility of the police to investigate, and collect evidence,
not pass judgements on closing cases due to lack of evidence. The authority
for that purpose lies with the judiciary.

6) Mr. Modi didn't even have the sympathy to visit the relief camps once
himself. The only time he did so was when Mr. Vajpayee came and asked him to
observe 'rajdharma'. Of course, our Modi saheb didn't listen to this piece
of advice from a senior of his own party, how can we expect him to listen to
the rest of us at all?

Interestingly, his administration wanted to shut down the relief camps in
June and July 2002, to prove that things were returning to normal in
Gujarat. This, at a time, when the villages from which people had to go
away, refused to accept these people back because they were Muslims. In many
cases, their properties were encroached upon by others in the village. And
till now they haven't got justice. Is Mr. Modi listening?

7) The last thing is about Mr. Modi himself. Manmohan Singh has apologized
for 1984 Delhi. Advani jee at least accepts in public that Babri Masjid
demolition was unfortunate. Does Modi have the guts to apologize for both
Godhra and post-Godhra violence taking place under his administration? He
doesn't. Whenever asked about Godhra and its aftermath, his response is to
go away (Remember Devil's advocate show when he asked Karan Thapar to stop
the show?).

This is the man who is probably the next PM candidate of the BJP come 2014.
He can't even ensure the police under him functions properly and registers
cases and investigates them properly. If he doesn't have the guts to answer
questions or control the police under him, what guts will he have to take on
the Taliban if required tomorrow?

8) Going away from 2002, this is my final point. Modi is always the 'model
CM' for the corporates? But ironically, the poverty alleviation has stopped
in Gujarat under Modi's rule. Health and education sectors aren't doing
well. Moreover, the space for democratic dissent has been hijacked by the
BJP, which doesn't allow normal people to even organize protests against the
govt.

The farmers in Gujarat who were under BKS, got a taste of it when protesting
on the issue of power and electricity rates. The Anhad activists got a taste
of it when campaigning against L K Advani from the Gandhinagar seat.

Is this the developmental model citizens refer to? Road construction and
setting up more industries alone is not development. That is why I asked
members of this forum to at least debate on what is development. I still
request others to at least put across their views. After all if we can
discuss on definitions of secularism, can't we discuss the definition of
development?

As for the Congress, or the Left, or any other party, I don't support any
party. For me, I believe in supporting policies. I support the policy of
NREGA introduced by the Congress, backed by pro-Leftist and pro-socialist
groups. I equally support the NHDP and the Golden Quadrilateral project
introduced by the Congress and the BJP respectively. But that does not mean
I support the Congress or the BJP or even the Left. And I would request all
of us here to do the same.

Otherwise we will simply be caught in party politics, and that is not going
to help the people.

Regards

Rakesh