Takes jibe at Congress ‘Satyagraha’, says Narendra Modi had appeared before SIT without ‘drama, dharna’.
Teesta Setalvad-run NGO gave baseless information about the Gujarat riots, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah after the Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal against the exoneration of then state Chief Minister Narendra Modi in a 2002 riots case.”I have read the judgement very carefully. The judgement clearly mentions the name of Teesta Setalvad. The NGO that was run being run by her—I don’t remember the name of the NGO—had given baseless information about the riots to the police,” Amit Shah, in an exclusive interview, told ANI. The apex court on Friday, while rejecting an appeal by Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the violence, said that the appeal was “devoid of merits.”
A three-judge bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, upholding the Special Investigation Team or SIT’s 2012 clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Gujarat riots case, said that Setalvad, co-petitioner in the case, exploited the emotions of Zakia Jafri.” All those involved in such abuse of process need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law,” the judges said, adding that the appeal was filed under “dictation of someone.” Antecedents of Teesta Setalvad need to be reckoned with and also because she has been vindictively persecuting this lis [dispute] for her ulterior design by exploiting the emotions and sentiments of Zakia Jafri, the real victim of the circumstances,” the top court said in its order.
The case pertains to what came to be known as Gulbarg Society incident, in which 68 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the riots triggered by the burning of a train coach in which 59 pilgrims perished in February 2002. A decade later, the SIT report, exonerated Narendra Modi, citing “no prosecutable evidence” in the Gulbarg Society case. On Friday, upholding the SIT clearance, the top court dismissed the petition filed by Zakia Jafri, saying that the plea was “to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design.”
Taking a jibe at Congress’ ‘satyagraha’ over ED questioning Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, Shah said that Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister appeared before the SIT in relation to probe over post-Godhra violence, but the BJP did not resort to “drama or dharna” during the questioning. Shah also referred to his facing arrest in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, in which he was subsequently acquitted, and said no “dharna” was carried out.” In a democracy, PM Modi presented an ideal example of how the Constitution should be respected by all political persons. Modiji was also questioned, but nobody protested, and (BJP) workers from across the country did not gather in solidarity with Modiji. We cooperated with the law. I was also arrested. There was no protest or demonstration,” he said.
“This is not the first clean chit to PM Modi. Nanavati Commission has also given a clean chit. Still the SIT was formed. And Modiji did not appear before the SIT doing drama… come in support from every village if not then call MLAs, MPs and ex-MPs, hold dharna,” Shah added in a jibe towards the Congress party’s decision to hold demonstrations in national capital during Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case.” We believe that we should cooperate in the judicial process. There was a Supreme Court order, and an SIT was there. If the SIT wants to ask questions from the Chief Minister, he himself said that he is ready to cooperate. Why stage a protest? No person is beyond the law,” he said.Shah said that protest cannot be justified against the judicial process.
“No protest is justified against any judicial process because our view is considered right when the judiciary says so. I was put behind bars. I used to say that I am innocent. But when the court said that a fake case was filed against me and there was a politically motivated conspiracy by the CBI to frame me, then my words proved right,” he said.