Myth 8: The Gujarat government was involved in the riots
Posted on May 22, 2008 - Filed Under 12-Concocted Lies and Myths by the media |
Fact: Gujarat government of the BJP, headed by Narendra Modi was blind to the mushrooming of madrasas in the state. Not only that, the previous government headed by Keshubhai Patel too was equally blind to the same. From India Today we know that it was because of fear of harming the BJP’s newly discovered ‘secular’ image that the party did nothing to control the madrasas.
The government deployed the entire police force of 70,000 on February 27 itself. (See report of The Hindustan Times dated 28 February 2002). The Gujarat government ordered preventive arrests of as many as 827 people on February 27 itself. Shoot-at-sight orders were given in Godhra on February 27. Such orders were also given at many other places after February 27. The Rapid Action Force was deployed in Gujarat on February 27 itself (See The Indian Express dated 28th February
2002). 98 people were killed in police firing in the first three days.
Riots in the first three days were all the result of Godhra. But Godhra itself was the brain of local Muslim Congress leaders. Riots were caused after Godhra by the media and the Congress’ inflammatory response to Godhra. Gujarat Congress chief and former Gujarat Chief Minister (the late) Amarsinh Chaudhary justified Godhra on some sort of provocations, i.e. the karsevaks not paying for tea and snacks at the Godhra railway platform which was a figment of his imagination.
The TV channels reported biased and one-sided on the post-Godhra riots, causing tremendous anguish among the masses, causing more and more violence. Their reporting was inflammatory not only after Godhra, but also after post-Godhra. Far from blaming the BJP or the Gujarat government for the riots, the TV channels and the English media should themselves take responsibility for the riots.
After 3rd March 2002, the riots were mostly all instigated and
started by the Muslims. The riots were brought under control in 72 hours. Far from the BJP being in any way involved in the riots, the Congress Party instigated all the riots in the state after 21st April
2002 so as to target Narendra Modi in its Modi-hatao campaign. The Rajya Sabha debated on Gujarat on 6 May 2002. The NDA allies’ votes were also going to count. To get NDA allies to vote against the Modi government, the Congress wanted to keep the riots going on in Gujarat. It also hoped for a collapse of the NDA, with allies quitting coalition because of the riots.
We will see this in detail later.
The report of www.rediff.com dated 22 April 2002 was-
“Gujarat home minister sees plot to break NDA
Sheela Bhatt in Mumbai
Gujarat Minister of State for Home Gordhan Zadaphia has blamed the Congress for the fresh spurt in violence in the state on Sunday, which cost 21 people their lives, saying the opposition party was trying desperately to break the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
“Yesterday’s riots in Ahmedabad’s Gomtipur and Rakhiyal area were planned,” Zadaphia told rediff.com “The Congress and the minority community do not want peace. The Congress wants to break the NDA alliance in Delhi by fuelling riots in Gujarat. Political parties in India are in the race for appeasing the minorities. They will not say a word against the Jama Masjid imam’s speech yesterday, where he incited Muslims to break India.”
According to Zadaphia, the Congress plan is “to continue the rioting, raise the issue in Parliament, force the NDA partners to raise their voices and, in turn, force the Modi government to resign”.
Corporators like Badruddin Sheikh and Taufik Pathan and their sons were leading the crowd, he alleged. “The crowd wanted to attack the colonies and kill as many as they can,” he said. “It was a serious attack. The railway tracks were full of people with bombs and weapons in their hands.”
Asked about six Muslims being shot by the police at point-blank range, he retorted, “What do you expect the police to do when Amar Patil, my constable, was stabbed to death just outside the masjid? At another place six SRP [State Reserve Police] men were injured when the minority crowd attacked them? Do you have any idea of the impact on the morale of the police?”
Zadaphia claimed that Pathan and Sheikh were bent upon disrupting the current high school exams. “They are harassing Muslim students,” he said. “In relief camps and Muslim areas they have announced on loudspeakers that Muslim students shall give college exams, but not the 10th and 12th standard exams.”
The minister said the ‘disruptive elements’ were upset because 98 per cent of students have appeared in the exams. “Their supporters are forcing students to get down from buses provided by the government,” he claimed. “They are tearing away the entry receipts of the students. What does this mean?”
Zadaphia promised that he would arrest the people who were inciting communal tensions to disrupt the exams. “We will break the 50-year-old negative psyche of such people,” he said.
Naresh Rawal, leader of the Congress in the assembly, dismissed the minister’s allegations. “The NDA will be dismantled soon for other reasons,” he told rediff.com “These are bogus allegations. Modi is failing to maintain law and order. He is the number one villain in India today. People’s perception is that Modi connived with the rioters. He should go. Let the BJP get a new CM and stop making such baseless allegations.”
The Gujarat police saved as many as 2,500 Muslims in Sanjeli, a town in North Gujarat, 5,000 Muslims in Bodeli, in Vadodara and about 10,000 Muslims in Viramgam. A total of about 24,000 Muslims were saved in the first three days alone. Police officials themselves suffered injuries in trying to save the Muslims, as reported by the weekly India Today.
On February 28, the police shot dead 10 Hindus in Ahmedabad alone. The leading most English daily from South India, and an extremely anti-Hindu newspaper, ‘The Hindu’ reported this on 1st March 2002. On 1st March, the police shot dead 17 people in Ahmedabad alone-and atleast 8 outside Ahmedanad-as reported by The Hindu dated 2nd March 2002. On 2nd March 2002-police firing resulted in 47 deaths-as reported by The Hindu the next day-i.e. 3rd March 2002. The Indian Express dated 3rd March reported that 77 people were killed in Police/Army firing on 2nd March 2002.
On February 28, The Hindu reported that shoot-at-sight orders have been given by the state government in Godhra-on February 27. Even before a single riot had occured-the state government had given shoot-at-sight orders.
Thus, in brief, it can be seen that the Gujarat government handled the riots extremely efficiently. The steps taken to control the violence were-
1-The Indian Express dated 28th February 2002 reported that the State Government had deployed the Rapid Action Force in Ahmedabad and other sensitive areas and the Centre sent in CRPF personnel-on February 27 itself even before a single riot had taken place.
2- The Hindu reported in its issue dated 28th February 2002 that “Shoot-at-sight” orders had been given in Godhra on February 27 itself.
3-The Hindustan Times reported in its issue dated 28 February 2002 that the entire police force of 70,000 was deployed in Gujarat on 27 February itself-after the shocking massacre in Godhra-in view of apprehensions that riots might break out.
4-827 preventive arrests were made on the evening of February 27 itself-on Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s orders-on his return to Ahmedabad from Godhra.
5-On February 28 -despite the deployment of the entire police force, the CRPF personnel and the Rapid Action Force-the situation seeped out of control-according to The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.
6-Despite the fact that the situation seeped out of control-the mob sizes were unpreceedented-and the police were overwhelmingly outnumbered-the police did its best. The police fired more than 1,000 rounds on the first day of the riots-i.e. February 28.
7-The Hindu reported in its issue dated 1st March 2002-that atleast 10 persons were believed to have been killed in police firing in Ahmedabad alone by evening of February 28. 5 Hindus were shot dead outside Ehsan Jafri’s house on Feb 28-according to India Today weekly-dated 18 March 2002.
8-Curfew was clapmed in Godhra on 27 February itself-as reported by The Hindu dated 28 February 2002.
9-An indefinite curfew was clamped in 26 cities and towns in the State, including parts of Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Nadiad, Anand and Kaira on February 28 in addition to the indefinite curfew in force in Godhra since February 27-according to The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.
10- The Chief Minsiter, Narendra Modi, frantically called the Army units to Ahmedabad on February 28-as reported by the The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.
11-The Indian Express and The Hindu both reported that Army units started arriving in Ahmedabad on the night of February 28-in their issues the next day-i.e. 1st March 2002. This shows that the Army units reached Ahmedabad so quickly-that the newspapers had the time to report their arrival on February 28 itself itself and publish it on 1st March!
12-The Army staged a flag march in Ahmedabad on 1st March 2002 at 11:30 AM-as reported by weekly India Today in its issue dated 18th March 2002. The Hindu and The Indian Express and all major dailies also reported that the Army staged flag marches in Ahmedabad-and also Vadodara on 1st March 2002.
13-The Army began flag marches in the worst-affected areas of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot and Godhra cities and the `shoot at sight’ order was extended to all 34 curfew-bound cities and towns in Gujarat on 1st March 2002-as per The Hindu dated 2nd March 2002.
14-The Gujarat police fired a total of 4,000 rounds in the first three days alone. This-despite the presence of the Army.
15-The Gujarat police shot dead 98 people in the first three days-majority of whom are Hindus.
16-The Hindu reported in its issue dated 4th March 2002-that only 2 deaths were reported on 3rd March in the entire state-and the violence has ended on 3rd March 2002. Thus-the Gujarat government managed to control the situation in 3 days-even after the shocking massacre in Godhra-while it took previous Congress governemnts 6 months to stop the riots in 1969 and 1985-even without any cause as Godhra.
September 7th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Mr Naveen-see this link -which will help you understand the reality- http://ia.rediff.com/news/2002/apr/22bhatt.htm
September 7th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
This has been quoted from a reputed weekly-India Today-and Mr Naveen-noen other than The Hindu reported this charge in its issue dated 6th May 2002. India Today weekly dated 27 May 2002 clearly reports that Congress kept the riots alive to target BJP and Narendra Modi! Mr Naveen you should win a nobel prize for fiction-for trying to DENY THE TRUTH- everybody who was in Gujarat in May 2002 knows that the riots in that month were instiagted by the Congress. Read weekly India today-which is a biased anti-BJP weekly. L K Advani-the then Home Minsiter had also said in his interview in July 2002 that some vested interests had kept the riots alive to tarnish the name of the BJP. This book contains a special chapter-”Role of the Congress and the media in instigating violence”.
September 7th, 2008 at 11:10 am
After 3rd March 2002, the riots were mostly all instigated and
started by the Muslims. The riots were brought under control in 72 hours. Far from the BJP being in any way involved in the riots, the Congress Party instigated all the riots in the state after 21st April
2002 so as to target Narendra Modi in its Modi-hatao campaign. The Rajya Sabha debated on Gujarat on 6 May 2002. The NDA allies’ votes were also going to count. To get NDA allies to vote against the Modi government, the Congress wanted to keep the riots going on in Gujarat. It also hoped for a collapse of the NDA, with allies quitting coalition because of the riots. We will see this in detail later.
Did u write this or r u quoting from some news source?? Well whoever wrote this should be writing fiction. He/she is sure to win noble prize for literature!