Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday denied that there was a delay on the part of the Gujarat government in requisitioning the army to deal with the post-Godhra Gujarat riots of 2002, saying former Punjab DGP KPS Gill had taken a dig at the state. The government’s action was termed as “prompt”. and neutral”.
In an interview to news agency ANI, Shah attacked the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying so many Sikhs were killed “but nothing was done for three days”.
“The Gujarat government did not delay anything. When the Gujarat bandh was announced, we called in the army. The army needed some time to reach. The Gujarat government did not delay even a day and the court also appreciated it.
The minister’s remarks came after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the then chief minister. Narendra Modi and many others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“Army headquarters is located in Delhi and there are many soldiers in the city but despite that so many Sikhs were killed (during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots) but nothing was done for three days. How many SITs were formed then? An SIT was formed after our government came to power. How many were arrested?” Shah said while questioning the Congress-led government during the 1984 Sikh riots.
“I think PM Modi did everything because I was watching the situation very closely. I think no CM deals with the situation like this. For example, there are 100-150 policemen in a police station, if we apply extra force, it only equals 400. If there is a crowd of around two lakh people then it takes time to control the situation in the state. Every action including lathi charge, firing etc. was taken to control the riots in Gujarat, 900 people were killed in the firing,” Shah said.
Quoting Gill’s remarks, the minister said: “It takes time for the government to make arrangements to control a situation like riots. Gill sahib also came to Gujarat to help the Modi government at that time. I had dinner with him too. He himself told me that he had never seen such a quick and neutral act in his entire life. However, allegations were leveled against Gill sahib too.”
Speaking about the apex court’s Friday’s decision, Shah said: “The state government made all efforts to control the Gujarat riots and took the right decisions at the right time. The court also said that the state government has controlled the situation with less damage.
Shah said all the allegations against Modi were “politically motivated”.
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